Barbie must have brushed up on her foreign languages. Her international voyages led the way in Mattel's
Domestically, not so hot, but internationally, things are cooking. The U.S. marketplace saw a sales decline of 3%. Overseas, Mattel grew its top line by 18%. International sales, of course, have been a key factor for global businesses, since the weak dollar is aiding in terms of currency exchange. Blending those two figures together, Mattel grew overall net sales by 7%, coming in at $1 billion. Earnings per diluted share only went up by a penny, to $0.11; the previous year's quarter did contain a tax benefit, however, equal to $0.02.
As I said, Barbie was a big help this quarter. The iconic doll property saw its revenue base grow 6% year over year. That isn't bad, especially considering that Barbie has been having a tough time in recent years remaining relevant to girls in an era where kids are outgrowing traditional toys at earlier ages -- the so-called "age compression" phenomenon. Even better, the Hot Wheels and Matchbox lines helped to drive a 20% gain in sales for the company's Wheels segment. Fisher-Price also enjoyed a double-digit rise.
There were the requisite weak spots. We all know everything can't be perfect. American Girl merchandise declined 10% in its top line, while the entertainment business -- Mattel includes puzzles and Radica properties in this segment -- was down 2%.
These soft spots don't concern me right now. You have to look at the overall picture when discussing a company such as Mattel, which, like Hasbro and JAKKS Pacific
This report comes on the heels of a previous solid outing; the first quarter also saw a profit which was made even more special because of a tax benefit recorded in the comparable time frame. Like Hasbro, Mattel has a valuable portfolio of licensed products, including merchandise based on the Disney
More fun and games with Mattel:
- Come On Barbie, Let's Go Party
- Mattel Tells a Good Story: Fool by Numbers
- Mattel Doesn't Play Around
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Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns shares of Disney. As of this writing, he was ranked 16,099 out of more than 60,000 investors in the CAPS system. Don't know what CAPS is? Check it out. The Fool has a disclosure policy.