Star Wars hype gives Hasbro an excellent year

American toy manufacturer Hasbro‘s turnover and profit grew a lot last year, mainly because of an excellent fourth quarter on the back of the new Star Wars movie and Jurassic World.

4.4 billion dollar yearly turnover

In Hasbro’s fourth quarter, the company managed a 1.47 billion dollar turnover (about 1.31 billion euro), up 13 % compared to the same quarter last year. It is also an improvement on analysts’ forecasts of 1.37 billion dollar. Its operational profit also managed a double-digit growth, up 16 % to 259 million dollars (231.7 million euro).

Thanks to this excellent quarter, carried by the Star Wars movie and Jurassic World (as My Little Pony lagged behind), Hasbro’s full-year turnover reached 4.4 billion dollars (3.94 billion euro), up 4 %. Operational profit grew 9 % to 692 million dollars (nearly 619 million euro).

It was revealed several days ago that Hasbro had talked to its competitor Mattel (Barbie, Matchbox) some time last year, in order to discuss a merger. Insiders claim those talks were rather cumbersome and that there have not been any follow-up meetings.