Forbes Reports on Mattel’s Profits
See the report at Forbes for the details, but the short form boils down to Mattel had a strong enough 4th quarter in 2011 that their stock is on the rise. The article credits Hot Wheels and Barbie for the increase in profits, simply adding strength to the speculation that Mattel’s Matty Collector site — as well as their DC Universe Classics and other “collector” toy lines — are not the company’s most important projects.
And this is made even clearer by the report’s mention that 4th quarter US sales were actually down:
Much of Mattel’s bump in fourth-quarter sales came from abroad. Gross international sales increased 5% while contending with unfavorable currencies. Here in the U.S., gross sales fell 1%. For all of 2011, worldwide net sales were up 7 percent.
Kinda makes it a little easier to understand why Mattel isn’t all that worried about correcting the various quality issues they’ve been having with Masters of the Universe Classics. The real money, as always, is in Hot Wheels and Barbie.
Related articles
- Mattel lifts dividend 35%; shares gain 6% (marketwatch.com)
- Hot Wheels QR Codes (battlegrip.com)
- Barbie helps push Mattel 4Q profit up (cbsnews.com)
