Hasbro 1st-quarter profit falls 47 percent

[April 20, 2009]  PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) -- Hasbro says the stronger dollar and retailers cutting back on their inventory levels caused first-quarter profit to fall 47 percent, but results met analyst expectations.

Profit fell to $19.7 million, or 14 cents per share, from $37.5 million, or 25 cents per share.

Revenue fell 12 percent to $621.3 million. The stronger dollar hurt revenue by about 6 percentage points.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a profit of 14 cents on revenue of $644.9 million.

Star Wars and Playskool brands were strong sellers in the U.S. while Transformer sales were weaker.

The first quarter is the seasonally smallest for toy makers. Last week, Mattel reported a loss for the quarter as revenue fell 15 percent to $785.6 million.

[Associated Press]

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