Entertainment, led by eOne, bolstered sales at Hasbro last quarter, partly offsetting Covid-related supply chain bottlenecks that hit toy deliveries.
Entertainment revenues surged 76% to $327 million and adjusted operating profit swung to $42 million from a $3.6 million loss the year before. The company cited television deliveries of Yellowjackets and The Rookie and Moonshine, as well as sales of Fear the Walking Dead among other scripted and unscripted programs. Film revenue grew behind Come from Away and Finch. Family brands revenue growth was highlighted by the delivery of My Little Pony: A New Generation to Netflix (debuted last month) and content deals for Peppa Pig and PJ Masks.
Brian Goldner, who led the company’s successful charge into entertainment during his 13 years as CEO, including the key acquisition of eOne in 2019, passed away earlier this month from cancer at age 58.
Goldner “transformed an almost 100-year-old toy company into a leading global entertainment company. He changed the game completely,” said interim CEO Rich Stoddart at the start of a conference call with analysts this morning. The company is conducting a search for Goldner’s permanent replacement.
Execs on the call including eOne CEO Darre Throop, who said the company has been focused on Hasbro brands with over 30 in development across multiple entertainment streams. Transformers: Rise of the Beast is in production at Paramount for release next year and Hasbro is also working on a new animated Transformers series, he said. The Universal Beijing Resort — Universal’s recently opened newest and largest theme park — features Transformers: Metrobase, the first Transformer-themed world.
Hasbro will invest up to $750 million in content development this year.
Total Hasbro revenue was up 11% to $1.97 billion. Net profit grew 15% to $232 million. Consumer products, the largest business, saw revenue dip 3% to $1.28 billion. The company wasn’t able to fulfil $100 million worth of order – equivalent to about 5% of revenue – due to global supply chain issues. It’s shipped about all of that in the current fourth quarter as of today – with October seeing the highest value of shipments domestically ever in a single month. Supply chain issues are slowing deliveries and raising prices across industries.
Wizards of The Coast/digital gaming revenue rose 32% to $360 million.
