Mattel says second-quarter profit rose 56%

Toy giant Mattel Inc. reported Friday that second-quarter profit rose 56%, and company executives hinted that the company’s long-running battle with rival MGA Entertainment Inc. over the Bratz doll line wasn’t over despite Mattel’s recent loss in federal court.

The El Segundo company said that for the three months ended June 30, profit totaled $80.5 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with $51.6 million, or 14 cents, a year earlier. Sales increased 14% year-over-year, to $1.16 billion from $1.02 billion.

Chief Executive Bob Eckert said in a call with analysts that he was “very pleased” with the company’s performance, which was fueled by strong sales of “Cars 2” products and Barbie and other doll lines.

“Despite the mixed economic news, I am encouraged by our strong operating results and continue to believe we are well-positioned for the all-important second half of the year,” he said in a statement.

Among the company’s major brands, sales grew 12% for Barbie, 9% for core Fisher-Price products and 13% for American Girl brands. Eckert said it was the largest second-quarter increase for Barbie in more than a decade. Sales fell 2% for Hot Wheels.

Mattel’s “other girls brands” unit rose 29%, driven by the Monster High and Disney Princess doll lines. Its entertainment business shot up 41% thanks to its “Cars 2” and “Green Lantern” merchandise.

The world’s largest toy company was also busy in the courtroom last quarter.

In April, after nearly three months of testimony, a federal jury in the Bratz retrial rejected Mattel’s copyright infringement claims. It found that Mattel did not own the rights to the big-headed, pouty-lipped dolls, early models or sketches, and that MGA did not steal its trade secrets.

Instead, it found that Mattel had stolen trade secrets from MGA and owed the Van Nuys company $88.5 million.

Mattel has long argued that MGA stole the concept for Bratz. It maintains that Bratz creator Carter Bryant, a former Barbie designer, came up with the idea for the dolls in 1999 during his second stint with the company and violated the terms of his “inventions agreement” by taking the concept to MGA, which went on to produce and market the wildly successful franchise.

In a call with analysts Friday, Eckert said the company was waiting to see how U.S. District Judge David O. Carter would rule on the company’s post-trial motions before it could evaluate its next steps.

“We’re clearly disappointed with the recent verdict,” he said. But “the verdict is by no means final. We strongly believe that the outcome at the trial level wasn’t supported by the evidence or by the law.”

Mattel didn’t say how much it has spent on Bratz litigation, which is estimated to be hundreds of millions of dollars, but said it was trying to reduce its overall legal expenses by $75 million by the end of 2012.

Shares of Mattel rose 50 cents, or 1.9%, to close at $27.29 on Friday.

andrea.chang@latimes.com