(Reuters) -Hasbro’s first-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates on Thursday, helped by strength in the company’s gaming segment, sending the toymaker’s shares up about 7% in premarket trading.
The Play-Doh owner said it would not change its annual forecasts amid the uncertainty related to the Trump administration’s tariffs, adding that the levies did not have any material impact on the quarterly results due to the timing as to when they went into effect.
Hasbro’s ongoing shift toward its digital and licensed gaming business helped in attracting younger customers after its toy business has struggled with weak demand despite introducing new products such as Marvel action figures.
The company’s revenue rose 17.1% to $887.1 million in the first quarter, compared with the average analyst estimate of $771.2 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Revenue from the company’s digital gaming segment, which makes online versions of games such as “Monopoly” and “Magic: The Gathering,” jumped 46%.
Hasbro’s turnaround efforts, such as streamlining its supply chain and maintaining leaner inventories, also helped the company to report an adjusted operating margin that rose 25.1%.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.04 per share, compared with estimates of 67 cents per share.
Increasing worries about a global trade war, triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s import tariffs on trading partners, have piled pressure on the toy industry that is already struggling with weak demand as consumers cut back spending on non-essential purchases.
In February, Hasbro said it would trim the share of toys and games sold in the U.S. that are made in China to below 40% from 50% within two years.
(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
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