Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) reported its second-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Monday. The company had a strong start to 2016. Although revenues posted a solid gain and earnings as well, the reaction from investors did reflect this win.
The company said that it had $0.41 in earnings per share (EPS) on $878.9 million in revenue. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters had called for $0.39 in EPS on revenue of $858.97 million. And in the same period of last year, the toymaker posted EPS of $0.33 and $797.66 million in revenue.
During this quarter, Hasbro paid $63.9 million in cash dividends to shareholders. The next quarterly cash dividend payment of $0.51 per common share is scheduled for August 15, to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 1.
Also the company repurchased 270,611 shares of common stock at a total cost of $21.9 million and an average price of $81 per share. Through the first two quarters, the company repurchased 745,611 shares of common stock at a total cost of $57.8 million.
In terms of the business segments, Hasbro reported:
- Boys category revenues increased 4% to $355.1 million. Revenue growth in the quarter was driven by gains in Franchise Brand NERF, along with Partner Brand STAR WARS as well as the addition of YOKAI WATCH.
- Games category revenues for the quarter increased 8% to $227.7 million. PIE FACE, DUEL MASTERS, YAHTZEE, SIMON and BOP-IT were among the brands contributing to growth in the quarter.
- Girls category revenues increased 35% to $172.3 million. Hasbro’s line of DISNEY PRINCESS and DISNEY’S FROZEN fashion and small dolls along with revenue growth in BABY ALIVE led the increase in the quarter.
- Preschool category revenues increased 5% to $123.9 million. Revenue growth in Franchise Brand PLAY-DOH drove the revenue increase for the quarter.
Brian Goldner, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Hasbro, commented on earnings:
Hasbro’s focus on building brands, telling great stories, and creating the best play experiences in toys, games, digital gaming and consumer products is driving strong consumer and retailer demand for our brands globally. The excellent execution of our team continues to deliver revenue and earnings growth, while we are investing in elevating our talent and capabilities around our Brand Blueprint. Our initiatives for the second half of the year feature innovative offerings for Hasbro Franchise Brands and Partner Brands, including newly announced products such as FURBY CONNECT and SPEAK OUT, and support for upcoming major feature films, Lucasfilm’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and DreamWorks’ Trolls.
On the books, Hasbro cash and cash equivalents totaled $924.1 million at the end of the quarter, versus $858.5 million in the same period from last year.
Shares of Hasbro were trading down more than 6% at $79.91 Monday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $88.22 and a 52-week trading range of $60.38 to $88.53.
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