Mattel, which has been led by entertainment veteran Ynon Kreiz since 2018, posted strong fourth-quarter results Wednesday that were ahead of Wall Street analysts’ expectations.
The maker of popular toys and games like Barbie, Monopoly, Hot Wheels and Uno had net sales of a shade less than $1.8 billion, up 10% from the year-earlier period. Sales in North America climbed 14% compared with a year ago, while international sales gained 9%. Adjusted earnings per share rose 32% from the 2020 period, reaching 53 cents.
Dolls, including Barbie, Spirit, Polly Pocket, and Enchantimals, proved a potent category in the quarter. Worldwide gross billings for dolls hit $804 million, up 13%. Domestically, dolls increased 27%.
In an interview with Deadline, Kreiz declared, “The turnaround is complete. We’re now in growth mode.”
In addition to the strong fourth-quarter and full-year report, Mattel has rosy expectations for 2022, calling for a revenue increase of 8%-10% over this year. The company also increased its guidance for 2023, predicting a revenue upswing in the high-single digits, up from mid-single digits. That’s a notably more optimistic outlook than that of Hasbro, which cited the costs of raw materials and other factors for its estimate of low-single-digit revenue growth.
“Our guidance is more than the market expects,” Kreiz said. As to macroeconomic factors, he added, “There are supply-chain issues, there is inflation. But we’ve been able to manage through these disruptions.”
Formerly a top exec at Endemol, Maker Studios and Fox, Kreiz has made several moves to position Mattel as an entertainment brand. Among upcoming projects is a high-profile Barbie film directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, which will be released by Warner Bros in 2023.
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