‘Peppa Pig’ Parent Hasbro Sees Film & TV Rebound, Beats Wall Street Q2 Forecasts

A strong return of its film and TV business, especially compared with a bleak 2020, helped Hasbro’s second quarter results easily beat Wall Street forecasts.

Revenue surged 54% to $1.32 billion, while adjusted earnings per share reached $1.05, compared with two cents in the year-ago quarter. When factoring in the impact of selling off subsidiary eOne’s music business, the company booked a net loss of 17 cents a share. Overall, the results attest to the company’s rebound from the Covid-19 struggles that defined 2020.

The entertainment division, which has recently launched series like Cruel Summer and The Rookie as well as new episodes of kids TV mainstay Peppa Pig, saw revenue rise 47% to $197 million. Toy sales related to Marvel’s Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow movie also contributed to the strong quarter.

Every division of Hasbro showed revenue growth in the quarter, reflecting an overall return to a more familiar business footing. In the spring of 2020, the company was coping with widespread impacts from the pandemic, which shuttered film and TV production and bogged down the supply chain.

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CEO Brian Goldner said the company is on track to reliver double-digit revenue growth in 2021. My Little Pony is a key property in the back half of the year, with a new feature film slated for release on Netflix, a new line of products and related series in the works. On the feature film side, the company said production has begun on summer 2022 release Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the latest co-production with Paramount. The studio just released the Hasbro-backed Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins over the weekend, collecting a disappointing $13.35 million.

Despite the upswing in the second quarter, year-to-date entertainment revenue is down 7%, and operating profit has fallen 24%. Scripted series deliveries are weighted toward the second half of the year, Hasbro said, projecting a positive full-year performance for the division.

Shares in Hasbro spiked in pre-market trading and opened the regular session up 6% at around $98.

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