Lego 6-month profit surges to $177 million

[August 17, 2009]  COPENHAGEN (AP) -- Danish toy maker Lego said Monday that six-month net profit nearly doubled to 927 million kroner ($177 million) on strong sales of its best-selling products.

Last year, Lego Group's profit for the period was 564 million kroner. Revenue from January through June surged 23 percent, to 4.4 billion kroner ($839 million) from 3.6 billion kroner in 2008. The family-owned company does not release quarterly figures.

Lego CEO Joergen Vid Knudstorp said the "very satisfactory" figures gave reason to be "optimistic with regard to prospects for the remainder of 2009."

Lego, whose colored plastic building blocks have been a favorite children's toy for decades, saw sales growth particularly in the United States and eastern Europe, with products like Lego City and Lego Star Wars performing better than expected.

"The total global toy market declined somewhat during the first half of the year," Lego said. "The total figure, however, represents significant regional differences -- English-speaking markets reported a decline, while most European toy markets grew during the period."

Encouraged by its six-month performance, Lego said it had made several investments to increase capacity, including in new injection molding machines in Denmark, Hungary and Mexico. It also began the construction of a warehouse in the Czech Republic in June.

Based in Billund, western Denmark, the Lego Group employs some 4,500 people worldwide. The company is not publicly listed but has published earning reports since 1997.

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On the Net: http://www.lego.com/

[Associated Press]

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