Comic book publisher Marvel Entertainment , which owns the licensing rights to characters such as Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk, on Tuesday reiterated its fiscal 2007 earnings guidance, saying it expects strong movie merchandise income related to the U.S. release last weekend of the movie "Spider-Man 3."
The company continues to expect 2007 profit of $1.30 to $1.55 a share on revenue of $375 million to $435 million. Last year, the company earned 67 cents a share on revenue of $352 million.
Marvel Entertainment said key drivers behind the guidance include expectations for strong Spider-Man movie merchandise licensing related to the release of "Spider-Man 3" on Friday. The company also cited contributions from its toy licensing agreement with Hasbro and licensing revenue from additional films slated for release later this year.
Much of the company's revenue growth will occur in the second half of the year, Marvel Entertainment said.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast profit of $1.46 a share on revenue of $433.3 million.
Marvel Entertainment shares rose 30 cents to $29.90 in premarket trading.