Mattel Sees 20% Rise in Quarterly Profit
Times Staff and Wire Reports
Mattel Inc.’s profit rose 20% in the fourth quarter but did not reach analysts’ estimates, and its stock fell sharply.
The El Segundo-based toy maker, whose top sellers are Barbie dolls and related merchandise, earned $35.7 million, or 35 cents per share, in the October-December quarter, compared to $29.6 million, or 26 cents per share, in the same 1991 period.
A $50-million reduction in Nintendo game sales, which it stopped distributing in Canada and Italy, contributed to a quarterly sales decline to $511 million from $521 million a year earlier.
Mattel’s stock finished down $4.50 at $24 on the New York Stock Exchange. Analysts had been expecting fourth-quarter earnings of at least 42 cents per share.
