Mattel Shares Drop on Poor Q1 Earnings

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Shares in toymaker Mattel Inc. dropped nearly 8 percent early Monday after the company reported its first quarterly loss in almost three years.


Mattel posted a net loss of $46.6 million (-13 cents per share), compared with net income of $12 million (3 cents) in the same period a year earlier. The results came in far below Wall Street’s expectations of a 1 cent per share profit, according to Thomson Financial.


Sales for the El Segundo-based toy company also declined 2.2 percent to $919 million. Without currency gains, revenue would have dropped at least 7 percent, Mattel said in a statement.


However, the toymaker said that sales are expected to get a boost during the second quarter as Mattel rolls out toys tied to such potential blockbuster movies as “Speed Racer,” “Batman: The Dark Knight” and “Kung Fu Panda,” all expected to be released this summer.


Mattel added that it expects manufacturing costs to continue to rise in China as the yuan continues to gain on the dollar and as inflation in China nears the highest level in more than a decade. The toymaker said it may raise prices this year in the “mid-to-high single-digit range” to combat these forces.


Shares in Mattel were down 7.5 percent to $20.13 in early trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.

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