Dive Brief:
- Mattel says it is seeing momentum in its business, as the company reported Q1 net sales increased 4% year over year to $862 million, according to a Wednesday press release.
- The company swung to a net income of $61 million, compared to a loss of over $40 million in the year-ago period. Its operating loss widened nearly 94% to $102.7 million.
- “What we are seeing is consumers are buying toys. The toy industry is in a healthy position. And for Mattel, we are continuing to see demand,” CEO Ynon Kreiz said on an earnings call with analysts.
Dive Insight:
Mattel hit some goals during Q1, including closing on the acquisition of Mattel163 Mobile Game Studio, which develops digital games based on the company’s brands.
The deal “meaningfully strengthens our digital games business and adds significant development, publishing and digital customer acquisition expertise,” Kreiz said.
The company is getting ready to launch its first two self-published mobile games, one of which is based on its Masters of the Universe property ahead of the theatrical release of a movie based on the brand on June 5.
Mattel also in Q1 repurchased $200 million in shares and saw a number of brands grow by double digits or higher, including Hot Wheels, Uno and Monster High.
Meanwhile, the company has gone through a number of executive leadership changes. Last fall, the company restructured its brand leadership team and added two new roles: chief global brand officer and global head of dolls. Months later, Mattel brought on a chief consumer products and experiences officer, Natalia Premovic, from Netflix. This spring, Mattel announced that Chief Commercial Officer Steve Totzke would step down from his role, while managing director of EMEA and global direct-to-consumer Sanjay Luthra would take over the position.
The company, which said it was maintaining its outlook, said that it has been monitoring what is going on in the Middle East as well as possible changes related to tariffs.
“We are closely monitoring macroeconomic developments,” Kreiz said. “Clearly, a lot of things are going on, and we are watching how things pan out. Yet we have a lot to look forward to this year.”
