Game growth, movie tie-ins help Hasbro to record revenue

Hasbro Inc. reported record third-quarter revenue and strong earnings Monday on strong growth in its games division, while getting a bigger boost from sales to girls through tie-ins with Disney and DreamWorks movies.

With less than 70 days until Christmas and the shopping season around the corner, the toymaker maintained its recent momentum, reporting net income for the quarter of $257.8 million, topping last year's $207.6 million for the same period.

The toy industry pulled out of a near decade-long funk last year with the help of Hollywood tie-ins and improved technology, both factors in Hasbro's strong third quarter. The company says game revenue, which includes digital games, rose 13 percent from the same period last year. Revenue in the category that includes sales of items based on Disney's "Frozen" and other movies were up 57 percent.

On a per-share basis, the Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based company said it earned $2.03, compared with $1.64 for the same quarter in 2015, a 24 percent increase that easily beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.74 per share.

Hasbro says its revenue of $1.68 billion in the period was its best ever and beat Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.57 billion. The company reported revenue of $1.47 billion for the same quarter in 2015.

Shares in Hasbro rose more than 6 percent to $81.07 in midday trading. The stock has increased more than 20 percent since the beginning of the year.

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This story was generated in part by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on HAS at http://www.zacks.com/ap/HAS

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