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Market: NASDAQ
Sector: Manufacturing
EPIC: MAT
Latest Price: 31.36  (0.35% Ascending)
52-week High: 34.39
52-week Low: 22.94
Market Cap: 10,680.60M
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Mattel
www.mattel.com

Mattel, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets toy products worldwide through sales to customers and directly to consumers. The company is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products. The Mattel family is comprised of such best-selling brands as Barbie®, the most popular fashion doll ever introduced, Hot Wheels®, Matchbox®, American Girl®, Radica® and Tyco R/C®, as well as Fisher-Price® brands, including Little People®, Power Wheels® and a wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines.

Full Mattel profile here
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Mattel posts Q4 profit helped by Hot Wheels and Barbie sales

31st Jan 2012, 9:49 am by Brad Lemaire
Mattel posts Q4 profit helped by Hot Wheels and Barbie sales

Mattel (NYSE:MAT), the maker of Hot Wheels and Barbie, posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits helped by international sales, but missed analyst predictions for revenue.

For the quarter ended December 31, the company posted net income growth of 14 percent to $370.6 million, or $1.07 per share. That is up from $325.2 million, or 89 cents per share.

Quarterly revenue rose one percent to $2.15 billion from $2.12 billion a year ago.

Analysts polled by Bloomberg expected earnings of $1.01 a share, on sales of $2.2 billion.

Mattel's chief executive, Bryan Stockton, said: "Mattel delivered another strong year, our third consecutive year of solid performance, which I am especially pleased about given the soft global economic backdrop and the highly promotional environment, particularly in the US."

In the US, sales were down two percent, but were offset by strong growth in international markets as sales there rose five percent which included a three percentage point drag from unfavourable foreign exchange rates.

Barbie sales went up six percent in the quarter. Sales for Mattel’s Wheels segment – which includes the Hot Wheels, Matchbox and Tyco R/Co brand – jumped five percent.

Revenue for its Entertainment unit – which includes Radica and Games – rose three percent for the quarter.

Sales for the American girl segment rose four percent, with sales for Fisher-Price declining 10 percent.

Gross profit as a percentage of sales rose to 53.9 percent from 51.6 percent.

Mattel’s board declared a first quarter cash dividend of 31 cents. The dividend will be paid on March 9 to stakeholders on
record of February 23.

For the quarter, the company also purchased four million of its own stock for $112 million.

Shares rose 2.78 percent to $30.35 each Tuesday in pre-market trade.

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