Mattel's 3Q Matches Street's View; Barbie Sales Soar 17%

Carried by across-the-board sales momentum, toy maker Mattel (NYSE:MAT) lodged a 6.2% rise in third-quarter profits on Friday, matching Wall Street’s expectations.

The El Segundo, Calif.-based maker of Barbie and Hot Wheels said it earned $300.8 million, or 86 cents a share, last quarter, compared with a profit of $283.3 million, or 77 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts had called for EPS of 86 cents.

Revenue increased 9% to $2 billion, narrowly surpassing the Street’s view of $1.97 billion. Mattel, the world's largest toy company, said its domestic sales grew by 6%, while international revenues soared 13%.

“We continue to be pleased with our performance across our portfolio of brands in all of the regions of the world,” CEO Robert Eckert said in a statement.

All of Mattel’s divisions posted sales growth, highlighted by a 17% leap in global Barbie brand sales. Worldwide Fisher-Price sales inched up 1% to $748.9 million. Global Hot Wheels sales climbed 6%.

However, the company said its gross margins shrank to 47.8% from 51.1%.

“As we enter into the all-important holiday season, we remain keenly focused on execution and delivering growth in our core brands, working to expand and leverage our international footprint, optimizing our entertainment portfolio, and building our newest franchise, Monster High,” Eckert said.

Shares of Mattel slipped 0.47% to $27.65 ahead of Friday’s open, putting them on track to eat into their 2011 gain of about 9%.