MAT Mattel Inc

Hasbro Inc. posted a better-than-expected, double-digit revenue gain Monday, boosted in part by the brisk sale of "Stars Wars" toys during its latest quarter.

Hasbro's deep lineup of Star Wars-themed toys tied to the release of the latest film in the series helped lead to a 35% increase in its boys segment, more than offsetting a 17% decrease in its girls unit. The latest chapter of the space opera, which became the fastest movie in history to pass $1 billion at the box office, also buoyed the preschool category, with sales rising 17%.

Hasbro also reported "modest" initial shipments of its recently acquired, and closely watched, line of Disney Princess and "Frozen" dolls but noted the bulk of shipments are occurring in the current quarter. In 2014, Hasbro won the rights to the popular dolls away from toy-making rival Mattel Inc.

Hasbro's games segment increased 11%, driven by gains in its Magic: The Gathering franchise and the Monopoly board game. The girls category was hurt by declines in the Furby brands, a fuzzy robot toy that once flew off the shelves, and the boys category was further helped by the Nerf and Jurassic World brands.

Sales in the U.S. and Canada rose 29% to $690.8 million. The effect of foreign-exchange hurt the international segment, which posted a more modest gain of 2.9% to $690.8 million. For the just completed year, the company said it faced an "unprecedented impact from foreign exchange translation."

Overall, the company posted a profit of $175.8 million, or $1.39 a share, up from $169.9 million, or $1.34 a share, a year prior. Excluding certain items and the gains from sales, earnings on a per-share basis were $1.22. Revenue increased 13% to $1.47 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast adjusted per-share earnings of $1.30 a share on revenue of $1.37 billion.

Shares, which have fallen 5.3% in the last three months, were inactive in premarket trading.

Hasbro's strength comes at a tough time for the toy industry, as children continue to migrate from traditional toys to electronic games and consumer electronics.

Still, rival Mattel also showed strength last week, reporting that sales of its iconic Barbie doll rose 1% world-wide in its fourth quarter, ending eight straight periods of double-digit declines. Mattel also recently announced that the doll would be getting three new body sizes—curvy, petite and tall—to address concerns that the Barbie's traditional tall, slim and blonde look was losing its appeal with children.

Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 08, 2016 08:25 ET (13:25 GMT)

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