Toymaker Hasbro Inc (HAS) reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue on Monday, driven by strong demand for its Disney Princess and Frozen dolls and its action figures based on “Star Wars” movies.
Revenue from Hasbro’s toys targeted at boys, which include toys based on the “Star Wars” films and “Nerf” toy guns, rose 4 percent in the second quarter. The business accounted for about 40 percent of Hasbro’s total revenue.
Revenue from toys targeted at girls jumped 35 percent, the second increase in seven quarters. Hasbro, the No.2 U.S. toymaker, acquired the rights to make dolls based on Walt Disney Co’s (DIS) princesses such as Cinderella and Snow White in 2014 and started selling the dolls this year.
“Licensed toys are important to the toy industry, comprising nearly 30 percent of sales so far this year,” research firm NPD Group analyst Frederique Tutt said last month.
Tutt expects the industry to see strong sales of licensed toys based on “Star Wars”, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows”, “The Secret Life of Pets”, “Trolls” and “Finding Dory” films this year.
The net income attributable to Hasbro rose 24.6 percent to $52.1 million, or 41 cents per share, in the quarter ended June 26.
Net revenue jumped more than 10 percent to $878.9 million.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of 39 cents per share and revenue of $859 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
