Toymaker Hasbro beat market estimates for quarterly profit on Tuesday, riding strong demand for its "Magic: The Gathering" trading-card game and an increase in prices.
Despite a wider slowdown in the gaming market this year, sales at Hasbro have held up well due to a steady stream of new releases. The company unveiled an expansion set of "Magic: The Gathering" in the second quarter, which analysts said lifted orders for both tabletop and online versions of the game.
The "Wizard's of the Coast" business, home to the trading-card game and "Dungeons & Dragons", posted a near 17% increase in operating profit in the three months ended June 26.
The low production costs of those games, as well as higher prices for Hasbro's toys like Nerf blasters and My Little Pony figures, helped adjusted operating margins expand to 18% from 16% even as freight expenses surged.
Adjusted net earnings rose 10% to $160.6 million. On a per share basis, the company earned $1.15, beating analysts' estimates of 94 cents per share, according to Refinitiv data.
Net revenue rose 1% to $1.34 billion in the quarter ended June 26, but came in below estimates of $1.37 billion, reflecting the hit from a stronger dollar.