Hasbro 3Q Earnings Fall Short Of Expectations Despite Transformers

Hasbro 3Q earnings were lighter than Wall Street expected, in spite of a healthy upturn at its entertainment and licensing segment which benefited from Paramount’s Transformers: Dark Of The Moon and a onetime payment from Universal Studios.The toy company reported net income of $171.0M for the quarter, up 10% vs the same period last year, on revenues of $1.38B, up 5%. Earnings at $1.27 a share missed analysts’ target of $1.30.They also expected revenues tohit $1.45B. The drag came from U.S. and Canadian sales of games and puzzles, and products targeted to boys and girls — all of the categories declined. But entertainment and licensing revenues soared 69% to $46.3M while the unit’s operating income was up 159.3% to $15.3M. The company didn’t break out financials for The Hub, the cable channel for children it operates with Discovery. CEO Brian Goldner says Hasbro has “a great line up of innovative, sought-after toys and games for the holiday, many of which are only recently hitting retail shelves” and expects strong sales overseas. The company’s share price has fallen about 25% over the last 12 months, closing Friday at $34.75 — and CFO Deborah Thomas says Hasbro repurchased 5.6M shares in 3Q at an average price of $37.74.