(New York) The American Mattel raised its forecasts for the whole year after achieving results above analysts’ expectations in the third quarter, saying it had benefited in particular from the success of the Barbie film released in July.
“Consumer demand for our products increased during the quarter and we continue to outperform the sector,” commented Ynon Kreiz, boss of the group, quoted in a press release published on Wednesday.
“Our results benefited from the success of the Barbie movie, which became a global cultural phenomenon and represents a milestone for Mattel,” he added.
In a conference with analysts, he cited “significant contributions from ticket sales, the film’s toy lines and product partnerships.”
“We believe it will have a lasting effect in expanding the fan base and will be an important contributor to the brand,” he assured.
The film has grossed more than $1.44 billion worldwide since its theatrical release.
“We are very well positioned competitively and we expect to gain market share during the fourth quarter and throughout the year,” Kreiz continued in the press release.
Between July and September, the group achieved $1.92 billion in revenue (up 9%), which is slightly better than the FactSet analyst consensus of $1.84 billion.
Its net income came to $146.3 million, a plunge of half compared to the same period of the previous year. It was burdened by an exceptional charge of $212 million linked to taxes relating to assets abroad, the group explained.
Reported per share and excluding exceptional items – a benchmark for the markets – the profit came to 1.08 dollars, much better than the 86 cents forecast by the consensus.
“Given (its) year-over-year performance and (its) expectations of a promising holiday season,” Mattel has revised upwards some of its forecasts for the year, said Anthony DiSilvestro, its financial director, quoted in the press release.
This concerns, in particular, its earnings per share excluding exceptional items, which should be between 1.15 and 1.25 dollars instead of 1.10 to 1.20 dollars previously anticipated.
Operating profit is expected between $925-975 million (previously $900-950 million).
In electronic trading after the New York Stock Exchange closed, Mattel shares fell 7.06%.
On the product side, the group recorded a 27% jump in gross doll sales to $884 million thanks to Barbie (16% to $605 million), Disney Princess and Disney Frozen and Monster High while American Girl fell by 13 %.
Gross car sales rose 18% thanks to Hot Wheels (22% to $455 million) but fell in the action figures and board games segment, suffering from an unfavorable comparison with 2022 when many films d action were out.
Regarding this last segment, Mr. Kreiz announced a “Pictionary vs AI”, which he presented as the first physical board game to integrate artificial intelligence into the gameplay phase.