Hasbro beat Wall Street analysts expectations, posting fourth-quarter revenue of $1.72 billion, up 4% from the year-earlier quarter.
Adjusting for items, earnings reached $1.27 a share, ahead of analysts’ consensus expectation for $1.14.
Gaming as a category posted a 27% rise in revenue to $561.2 million as the company continued to cope with the effects of the coronavirus. While the pandemic has decimated retail sales, it has also spurred a rise in stay-at-home activities like game playing and streaming, both areas of strength for Hasbro. Its stable of gaming brands includes Magic: The Gathering and Monopoly. An expanded line of games and toys related to eOne franchises Peppa Pig and PJ Masks is due out later in 2021.
Results reflect pro forma comparisons with 2019 given the acquisition of eOne, which closed at the end of 2019. Moving forward, quarterly comparisons will be apples-to-apples.
As a segment, eOne saw revenue drop 21% in 2020 to $956.5, which Hasbro blamed on production shutdowns and other Covid-19 issues. The company said it repaid $123 million of the debt it incurred in the eOne acquisition.
“In 2020, we lived our purpose of making the world a better place for all children and all families. In what was a most challenging year, the global Hasbro team fully demonstrated its resilience, tenacity, creativity, flexibility, and empathy,” CEO Brian Goldner said in the earnings release. The company said global point-of-sale revenue increased in 2020 despite lockdowns and business restrictions in many parts of the world. TV and film revenue increased 20% from the year-earlier quarter, hitting $214.5 million.
On an earnings call with analysts, CFO Deborah Thomas said the company was “well on its way” to reaching its goal of $130 million in synergies with eOne by the end of 2022.