U.S. News

Hasbro Second-Quarter Profit Falls on Charge

Reuters
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Hasbro, the world's second-largest toy maker, posted a lower quarterly profit Monday due to a charge from its repurchase of $200 million in common stock from Lucasfilm.

Second-quarter net income fell to $4.8 million, or 3 cents a share, from $27.1 million, or 7 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding the charge, earnings rose to $41.3 million, or 24 cents a share, boosted by strong demand for movie-related toys like Transformers and Spider-Man.

Quarterly revenue climbed 31% to $691.4 million from $163.6 million due to strong sales of the Littlest Pet Shop, Nerf and Playskool toys.

Analysts, on average, were expecting Hasbro to earn 18 cents a share for the quarter, excluding items, on $647.76 million in revenue.

Revenue at Hasbro's North American division surged 24%, while revenue at its international segment soared 49%.

"Our core brands, especially Transformers and Littlest Pet Shop; and new product initiatives have performed very well both domestically and internationally," Chief Executive Alfred J. Verrecchia said in a statement.

The Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based company said it paid Lucasfilm $200 million in May, resulting in a $36.5 million charge.