Companies and Brands
Why Mattel Earnings Did Not Live Up to Expectations
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When Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) reported its first-quarter financial results late Thursday, the company posted a net loss of $0.32 per share and $735.6 million in revenue. That compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of a net loss of $0.17 per share and revenue of $804.82 million. The same period of last year reportedly had a $0.13 per share net loss and $869.4 million in revenue.
This was a tough quarter for new CEO Margo Georgiadis, who just took over the job two months ago. She has been charged with reinvigorating the company, but this seems to be tougher than once thought. The stock has been on the long way down for a while, with shares falling over 30% since this time last year.
In terms of its business segments the company reported:
- Mattel Girls & Boys Brands had gross sales of $441.1 million, which fell 16% from last year.
- Fisher-Price Brands sales fell 9% to $246.9 million.
- American Girl Brands gross sales dropped by 12% to $82.2 million.
- Construction and Arts & Crafts Brands sales fell by 38% to $38.5 million.
The company did not mention any guidance in the earnings report.
The board of directors also declared a second-quarter cash dividend of $0.38 per share, which is flat compared to last year. The dividend will be payable on June 9 to stockholders of record on May 19.
For the quarter, net cash flows used for operating activities were approximately $310 million, an increase of approximately $221 million from the prior year’s first quarter. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $381.9 million at the end of the quarter, compared with $599.7 million in the same period from last year.
Georgiadis commented:
Our Q1 results were below our expectations due to the retail inventory overhang coming out of the holiday period, but we remain encouraged by strong performance at retail for our key core brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price as well as sustained momentum in high-growth markets like China. We are confident we have worked through the majority of this overhang and look forward to a strong launch of Disney’s Cars 3 theatrical release in the second quarter. While we have a lot of work to do to successfully position Mattel for the future, we see a clear runway to improving growth and profitability over time.
Shares of Mattel hit a new 52-week low of $22.35 Friday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $30.00 and a 52-week high of $34.24.
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