EL SEGUNDO (dpa-AFX) – The great success of the “Barbie” film gave Mattel’s business a strong boost in the last quarter. But the toy giant is cautious about the Christmas business. Despite the recent tailwind, Mattel only forecast sales for 2023 at the previous year’s level of a good $5.4 billion. The company points to an uncertain economic situation. Investors then caused the shares to fall by more than eight percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
The “Barbie” film, which was released in the summer, grossed more than a billion dollars worldwide – and Mattel also makes money from it. The attention also boosted toy sales. Business in the doll division jumped by 27 percent year-on-year – while it has often weakened in recent years due to the trend towards digital games. According to previous estimates, the film is expected to bring Mattel’s coffers around $125 million.
Mattel boss Ynon Kreiz emphasized that the “Barbie” film had become a “cultural phenomenon”. He wants to expand Mattel from a toy manufacturer into an entertainment company. More than a dozen other films about Mattel toys have already been announced – for example about Hot Wheels cars and Polly Pocket figures.
“We don’t claim that every film will be as successful as “Barbie,” said Kreiz on the US business channel CNBC. But they will be approached with the same approaches. With “Barbie,” Mattel largely gave filmmaker Greta Gerwig free rein to tell a feminist story – and had no problem with lots of laughs at the expense of the company’s board in the film.
Quarterly sales rose by nine percent year-on-year to $1.9 billion (1.78 billion euros), as Mattel announced after the US stock market closed on Wednesday. In the previous quarters, the group had repeatedly struggled with declines in sales. The bottom line is that profits fell from $290 to $146 million. However, this was due to a $212 million tax provision./so/DP/mis
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