Barbie and Hot Wheels help Mattel to net sales rise for Q4 2015

Mattel is celebrating a surprise increase in quarterly net sales as revenue from Barbie dolls enjoyed a recovery and demand rose for Hot Wheels toys.

The results marked the company’s first rise in more than two years as it saw sales of Barbie dolls rise 0.5 per cent to $327.6 million in the fourth quarter.

The reveal is the latest dose of good news for the Barbie brand that unveiled a new line of dolls in three new body shapes – tall, curvy and petite – last week in order to appeal to a larger demographic.

Meanwhile, sales in the Wheels category rose 17 per cent to $271.8million, driven by Star Wars licensed toys such as Jedi Starfighter Starship and the Millenium Falcon Starship.

Mattel’s net sales increased 0.3 per cent to $2bn in the quarter ended December 31st.

The posting came as a surprise to analysts who on average had expected to see net sales fall 4.2 per cent to $1.91bn.