Mattel surprises with profit as shoppers return

NEW YORK (Reuters) - No. 1 toy company MATTEL (MAT.NQ)Inc surprised Wall Street with a quarterly profit on strong demand for its classic brands and newer product lines, and its shares rose more than 3 percent.

The news came a week after top U.S. retailers posted a record rise in monthly same-store sales for March, fueling hopes that the U.S. economy had turned the corner.

Mattel, the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, introduced a line of action figures based on popular World Wrestling Entertainment characters such as "Triple H" and "The Undertaker" earlier this year.

The company, whose rivals include U.S.-based Hasbro and Hello Kitty creator Sanrio Co Ltd <8136.T> of Japan, is also betting on new toys under the "Thomas & Friends" license and the "Toy Story 3" movie franchise this year.

"Even though people may have less money to spend, they know their budgets," BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson said. "When they have a budget, they ... don't scrimp on the kids. They cut out elsewhere."

Mattel shares, which had nearly doubled in the past 12 months, rose 3.2 percent to $24.50 in premarket trading.

Mattel said its first-quarter net profit was $24.8 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $51 million, or 14 cents a share.

Analysts on average were expecting a loss of 3 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net sales rose 12 percent to $880.1 million, boosted by both U.S. and international markets. The analysts' average estimate was $860 million.

While sales increased 5 percent for both Barbie and Fisher-Price brands, they rose 9 percent at Hot Wheels and 6 percent at American Girl.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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