Mattel Inc.
's (
MAT
) fourth quarter 2012 adjusted earnings of $1.12 per share missed
the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.75% but grew 4.7% year over
year. Year-over-year increase in net sales led to the growth in
earnings. On a reported-basis, including a litigation charge,
earnings per share were 87 cents, down 18.7% year over year.
During the quarter, net sales grew 5.0% year over year to $2.26
billion despite an adverse foreign currency impact of 1
percentage point. Other girls' brand, American Girls as well as
Fisher-Price Brand were major contributors to sales growth.
However, revenues fell shy of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of
$2.30 billion.
Quarter Highlights
Worldwide gross sales were $2.50 billion, up 6.1% year over year.
Gross sales from North America (comprise the U.S., Canada and
American Girl) increased 5% year over year while
international gross sales leaped 8.0% year over year, despite an
adverse currency impact of 2 percentage points.
Mattel's product segment comprises Mattel Girls & Boys
Brands, Fisher-Price Brands and American Girl Brands. Gross Sales
for Mattel Girls & Boys Brands business unit expanded 5% year
over year to $1,411.5 million. Sales for Barbie was down 4% but
for Other Girls Brands were up 55% buoyed by Monster High brand.
Gross sales for the Wheels business were down 1%, mainly due to
Matchbox. The sales for Entertainment business plummeted 13% hurt
by the sluggish business in the Cars 2 movie property.
Fisher-Price Brands sales climbed 6% to $744.5 million while the
American Girl line leaped 13% to $320.8 million.
Gross margin expanded 40 basis points (bps) year over year to
54.3% while operating margin declined 610 bps to 16.6%. Increased
Other selling and administrative expenses put pressure on the
operating margin.
Full Year Highlights
For full year 2012, adjusted earnings per share were $2.47,
which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by around 3.1% but grew
13.3% year over year.
On a reported-basis, earnings per share were $2.22 cents, up
1.83% year over year. Worldwide net sales were up 2% to $6.42
billion, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.46
billion.
Dividend
During the quarter, the company declared a cash dividend of 36
cents per share for the first quarter of 2013, reflecting an
annualized dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a 16%
increase to last year's total dividend.
Our Take
Mattel currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). After reporting
better-than-expected results for two successive quarters, Mattel
performed below expectations this quarter. Although the company's
increasing international footprint, particularly in the emerging
markets and new franchises and entertainment partnerships remain
positives for the stock, we believe, increasing input costs and
tough retail environment remain the areas of concern.
However, growth in revenue and solid dividend distribution amid a
backdrop of stringent economy comes across as a ray of hope for
investors.
Some other toy companies which will likely report this month are
Hasbro Inc.
(
HAS
),
LeapFrog Enterprises Inc.
(
LF
) and
JAKKS Pacific Inc
. (
JAKK
). Hasbro is slated to report its fourth quarter 2012 results on
Feb 7 while LeapFrog and JAKKS Pacific will likely report on Feb
6 and Feb 18, respectively.
HASBRO INC (HAS): Free Stock Analysis Report
JAKKS PACIFIC (JAKK): Free Stock Analysis
Report
LEAPFROG ENTRPS (LF): Free Stock Analysis
Report
MATTEL INC (MAT): Free Stock Analysis Report
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