NEW YORK – Toy maker Hasbro Inc. (HAS) on Monday said fourth-quarter profit rose as strength in its Star Wars category offset weakness in its games segment.
The company, known for brands such as Playskool and Milton Bradley, reported net income of $94.3 million, or 48 cents per share, compared with $81.9 million, or 44 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding taxes on repatriation, the company said earnings were $120.1 million, or 61 cents per share.
Analysts on average were expecting 58 cents a share, excluding items, according to Reuters Estimates.
Quarterly revenue rose to $1.07 billion from $1.06 billion. Analysts were expecting $1.11 billion.
Revenue in the U.S. toy segment, which includes the Star Wars and Furby lines, increased to $305.6 million from $263.7 million. Game segment revenue fell to $235.8 million from $270.3 million.
"While I am pleased with our overall performance, in particular our Star Wars product line, the games segment performance was below our expectations and clearly there is opportunity for improvement this year," Chief Executive Alfred Verrecchia said in a statement.
In January, Hasbro said it would combine its U.S. toy and game segments, and it named Brian Goldner as chief operating officer. Hasbro said he would have responsibility for North American toy and game operations, worldwide product development and global supply chain.
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