Mattell Shares Slide On Earnings Worries
Filed at 12:39 a.m. EDT
By Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Shares of Mattel Inc., the world's
largest toy maker, fell 11 percent to hit a new 52-week low
Friday amid concerns about earnings, analysts said.
Shares of the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels lost
$2.13 to close at $16.14 on the New York Stock Exchange.
"Mattel's last couple of quarters haven't been that great,
but they haven't changed their guidance since early this
year,' said Brian Eisenbarth, an analyst at Collins & Co.
Wall Street expects the company to earn 67 cents a share in
the third quarter, according to the latest consensus from
tracking company First Call/Thomson Financial.
Merrill Lynch analyst Hayley Kissell downgraded the stock
Friday, a source at the brokerage company said, but the
analyst was not immediately available for comment.
Officials at Mattel did not immediately respond to
inquiries. Mattel has had several rough quarters as it
struggled to cope with declining sales of Barbie dolls, but
has also moved to transform itself into a family products
company with more diverse lines of dolls and an expanded
cache of computer-related products. The company has also
announced plans to launch an e-commerce site.
In the first half of the year, Mattel lost $203 million, or
50 cents a share, including restructuring and acquisition
charges. Earlier this year, Mattel acquired book and
software company The Learning Co. "Now is when retailers
start looking at their inventories and deciding what they
need for the holiday season,' Eisenbarth noted.
He said that toy sales fell short of expectations last
Christmas, but added that lingering weakness in overseas
markets, like Southeast Asia and Latin Market, has little
impact on Mattel, which garners more than 70 percent of its
revenues from the United States.
Rumors that Mattel may be looking at other acquisitions have
added to the recent stock price weakness, analysts said.
Rumors also circulated that pressure on Mattel Chief
Executive Officer Jill Barad may be building as the stock
continues to take a beating.
Barad announced last week she would not seek reelection to
Microsoft Corp.'s board of directors ``due to the business
and responsibilities and priorities she has as a chairman
and CEO of Mattel.'
Barad said in July that Mattel was firmly committed to
delivering $1.50 in earnings per share for the year, before
charges. |
