'Frozen,' Disney Princess Toys Help Hasbro to Record Quarterly Results

CEO Brian Goldner also talks about his expectations for 'Rogue One' and says the toy giant continues to believe that 2016 'Star Wars' revenue could be in line with 2015.

Sales of Frozen and Disney Princess toys boosted third-quarter financials at toy giant Hasbro to the company's highest quarterly earnings and revenue ever.

The company, led by president, chairman and CEO Brian Goldner, said Monday that its quarterly results benefited from Frozen and Disney Princess sales after winning the global rights to make them from Mattel as of the start of this year.

"2016 has been a strong year, including our third quarter, which marked the greatest revenue and earnings quarter in Hasbro's history," said Goldner. "We are well positioned for what we believe will be a good holiday season."

The exec said Monday that management continues to believe that 2016 Star Wars revenue could be in line with last year. Year-to-date Star Wars revenue is "up significantly through the third quarter" despite a slightly lower third quarter due to different merchandising dates in the two years.

Asked about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Goldner said: “We are incredibly excited about this movie.” He added: "We also see the movie as having wonderful play patterns. You have seen some of the trailers, and you can imagine all the character play and vehicle play and role play that will come as a result of the movie."

Goldner added that in 2017 there will be the home entertainment release of the film and the second trilogy film. He concluded: "We have very strong expectations for Star Wars."

Hasbro’s third-quarter earnings rose 24 percent to $257.8 million, or $2.03 per share, up from $1.64 in the year-ago period. That exceeded Wall Street consensus expectations. Revenue rose 14 percent to $1.68 billion. Partner brand revenue grew 19 percent, driven by Disney Princess and Disney's Frozen, DreamWorks Animation' Trolls and video game franchise Yo-Kai Watch.

Quarterly girls category revenue jumped 57 percent to $462.0 million. Boys category revenue rose 2 percent in the third quarter to $605.5 million amid gains for Nerf and Transformers, as well as shipments of Yo-Kai Watch. The year-ago period had seen boys category revenue rise 24 percent amid the retail launch of Star Wars: The Force Awakens product.

Entertainment and licensing segment net revenue increased 8 percent in the third quarter over the year-ago period to $52.1 million, driven by growth in consumer products and digital gaming. Entertainment and licensing segment operating profit dropped 13 percent though to $14.1 million.

Asked about the outlook for Transformers revenue and how future films will help, Goldner said Monday that upcoming movies in the franchise will ensure that "different kinds of stories [are] being told, so not every movie will be the same, but every movie continues to add to the character and story of the property."