Hasbro’s earnings beat estimates

I know this is late news but I thought I’ll post it here anyway.  Both Hasbro and Mattel announced their 2008 Q1 earnings on 21 April 2008. 

Hasbro, the maker of My Little Pony and Transformers etc., is the world’s second-biggest toy company.  Here are some of their earnings highlights:

“Hasbro said it earned $37.5 million, or 25 cents per share, for the three months ended March 30, up from $32.9 million, or 19 cents per share, during the same quarter a year ago.”

“Sales grew 13% to $704.2 million from $625.3 million a year ago.”

“Revenue rose 22% to $248.3 million, while revenue in the U.S. and Canada segment grew 6% to $428.5 million.”

“…the results indicated the company was on track for a strong 2008.”

The full report dated 21 April 2008 can be found here.

I’m surprised that the report did not mention My Little Pony.  I guess this toy line is very niched.  It would have been a different story in the 80’s when My Little Pony was the in-thing then, and it was the closest rival to challenge Barbie’s popularity for over a decade (from 1982-1992).  Today I wonder if the G3 My Little Pony toy line would be sustainable, if not for the unwavering support of fans and collectors from around the world.

The revived interest in Hasbro’s Transformers toy line was mainly due to the live action Transformers movie last year, that helped to hype up interest in this once popular toy line of the 80’s.  I believe that the sales for Transformers toys has been strongly supported by its fans and collectors.  Many of these supporters were once the children of the 80’s who grew up playing with Transformers toys.

I am happy for Hasbro that it is able to beat earnings during this soft economy.  It shows that consumers and toy collectors are still willing and able to splurge in such times.  This strong support should be a great encouragement for Hasbro to keep innovating and present the market and its customers with even better quality toys.

Come back again tomorrow to read about Mattel’s 2008 Q1 earnings results.