Lego‘s profits grew by more than a quarter in the first half of 2024. The Danish company is growing faster than the (tormented) toy market and is winning market share.
Building on sustainability
In the first half of 2024, Lego recorded double-digit growth in both sales and profits. The Danish toy maker managed to increase its market share and significantly outperformed the broader toy industry. Sales rose 13% to 31 billion Danish kroner (4.16 billion euro), while consumer sales increased 14%.
Operating profit was even up 26% to 8.1 billion Danish kroner (1.1 billion euro), despite increased spending on strategic initiatives such as sustainability and digitalisation. Net profit grew by 16%. Lego is increasingly criticised for its plastic building bricks, so the manufacturer is now aiming to get more than half of its raw materials from sustainable sources over time. Some 22% already came from renewable and recycled materials in the first half of 2024 – a significant increase on 2023.
Building new factories
In the meantime, Lego has also continued to expand its global supply chain with the opening of a new European regional distribution centre in Belgium. In addition, new factories are under construction in Vietnam and Virginia, US. The company has also revamped its digital offering with the relaunch of the Lego Play app, replacing the Lego Life app.
Still, the growth must be framed in the ‘exceptionally bad toy year’ 2023: last year, Lego grew barely 2%, as 2023 saw ‘the most negative toy market in more than 15 years’, CEO Niels B. Christiansen said.
