Monopoly-maker Hasbro revenue surges as TV, film business bounces back

July 26 (Reuters) – Toymaker Hasbro Inc (HAS.O) posted a better-than-expected 54% jump in quarterly revenue, helped by rising demand for its “Dungeons & Dragons” tabletop game, while its film and television production unit rebounded after a year of pandemic-led shutdowns.

Shares rose 2.3% in premarket trading on Monday as the company’s revenue was boosted by its TV production business, which benefited from vaccine rollouts and easing restrictions.

Over the last few months, the division has rolled out dramas “Cruel Summer” and “The Rookie” as well as signed up new content deals for children’s shows “My Little Pony” and “Peppa Pig”.

Entertainment segment revenue, which includes production studio Entertainment One and other movie businesses, jumped 47% in the quarter.

Sales of toys based on characters from movie franchises rose following the comeback of Marvel superheroes in the form of the “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” Disney+ series and the “Black Widow” movie.

Meanwhile, demand for role-playing and board games, which soared during the pandemic as parents turned to toys to keep kids happy, also held strong.

Revenue from consumer products segment, which includes core toy brands such as Nerf and Play-Doh as well as toys based on movie franchises, rose 33% to $689.2 million.

Overall net revenue rose 54% to $1.32 billion in the three months ended June 27, beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.16 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Hasbro reported adjusted net profit of $145.4 million, or $1.05 per share, in the second quarter, compared to $2.7 million, or 2 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected a profit of 7 cents per share.

However, the Monopoly maker stuck to its annual revenue target of double-digit growth as planned price hikes due to commodity price rise and supply bottlenecks raise doubts over what demand will look like in the holiday shopping season.Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur

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Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/toymaker-hasbro-beats-quarterly-revenue-expectations-2021-07-26/