Mattel, Hasbro on separate paths after Toys R Us

Quarterly reports from Mattel and Hasbro show that while the demise of Toys R Us has shaken up the industry, the two dominant toy makers’ paths are diverging less than a year later.

Thursday, Mattel posted better-than-expected earnings per share and revenue for the key holiday quarter, sending its shares up sharply. The maker of Barbies and Hot Wheels named a new CEO last April and has launched a restructuring that is starting to take hold, analysts said.

For the three months ended in December, Mattel had a profit of US$14.9 million, or four cents per share, after posting a loss a year earlier. Revenue of US$1.52 billion was down five per cent year over year, but topped estimates. The loss of Toys R Us — which liquidated its stores in the spring — lead to an eight per cent drop in sales, while a slowdown in China contributed to a two per cent headwind.

Still, El Segundo, California-based Mattel Inc. reported that it achieved US$521 million in savings during the fourth quarter and expects to exceed its savings target of at least US$650 million this year. Under its restructuring program it’s cutting 2,200 jobs worldwide, mainly office workers.

“While it’s still early days of the turnaround and there are areas to improve (Fisher Price, American Girl, etc.), we’re encouraged by the early signs of progress and think delivering above-plan cost savings should help as we enter 2019,” Citi analyst Gregory Badishkanian wrote in a note to investors.

Its stock rallied 21 per cent in trading Friday, to US$15. That puts it up 50 per cent in the year to date.

While Hasbro Inc. also returned to a profit in the fourth quarter, the Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based maker of Nerf and Power Rangers again missed Wall Street expectations for both sales and net income, following a shortfall in the third quarter.

The company earned US$8.8 million, or seven cents per share, for the period ended Dec. 30. A year earlier it lost US$5.3 million, or four cents per share. Stripping out one-time gains and costs, earnings were US$1.33 per share. That’s sharply below the US$1.68 per share that analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research expected.

Revenue dropped 13 per cent to US$1.39 billion, short of the US$1.52 billion Wall Street predicted.

Chairman and CEO Brian Goldner said in a statement that Hasbro wasn’t able to recapture as much of the Toys R Us business during the holidays as it expected. The company was also contending with changing consumer behaviours in Europe — sales there declined 22 per cent — and reduced retail inventory, he added.

Its shares slid 4.5 per cent to US$86.22.

Stifel analyst Drew E. Crum, who has a Hold rating on the stock, called the report “disappointing.”

“While we continue to expect growth this year, we believe downward revisions to numbers are forthcoming,” he wrote in a note.