Shares of popular toymaker Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) have been climbing in early trading after the company posted this morning a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit. For the quarter, the world's second-largest toymaker reported that its profit jumped 24% up to $133.7 million, lifted by strong sales of its Transformers, Nerf and Furreal Friends product lines. Strong revenue gains offset weaker gross margins and lower U.S. earnings, and the company posted earnings of 84 cents per share. Analysts were expecting Hasbro show earnings of 81 cents per share in the quarter.
Amid a challenging consumer environment, Hasbro announced a respectable jump of 16% in revenue to $1.3 billion, up from $1.1 billion a year earlier. Revenue during the period were helped by a 29% surge in its international sales that outpaced those in North America. Analysts, on average, forecast sales of about $1.22 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
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