Lego Challenges for the World's Biggest Toy Company

I received a note from Gerrick Johnson, Toy Industry Specialist for BMO Capital, with some interesting analysis.  He ran 2012 numbers on Lego, Hasbro and Mattel and according to his calculations, Lego is now the number two toy company in the world based upon revenue edging out Hasbro.  It is the number one toy company in the world based upon net income.

Here is how he explains it.  "LEGO did $4.137 billion in sales vs Hasbro's $4.084 billion. Mattel did $6.421 billion. So based on sales LEGO is #2."  Then he goes on to write:  "But, if you look at net income, LEGO is #1 with $992 million. Mattel had $777 mil and Hasbro had $336 million."

I knew that Lego has had double digit increases for eight years in a row but these numbers certainly put it into perspective.

Congratulations Lego!

 

 

Comments

[Melanie Notkin (@SavvyAuntie)]

Focused innovation, quality products, brand integrity. It's no surprise LEGO is doing so well.

[Chetan]

Richard, I'd like to add that if the Net Profit for LEGO is higher than its competitors, then its market value would also be higher (assuming the same P/E earnings multiple).
Now we all know that LEGO is a private company. But if it was listed with a higher market capitalization - all investors would call LEGO to be #1.
We've been analyzing LEGO in the social media space, and found their strategy to be truly remarkable. Here's the link to our article - See How LEGO Interlocks in Social Media - http://goo.gl/LND6r. Trust you'll find it interesting
Cheers,

[Tom]

would be nice to get EBITDA numbers as Net Income is affected by interest rates and taxes which vary depending fom countries. Any clue on that, Richard?

[toyboy]

LEGO's 2012 EBITDA, at current exchange rates, was $1.5 billion, ahead of Mattel's $1.2 billion and Hasbro's $702 million.

[Jennifer Ward]

We certainly love Lego-but more than ever, with all this capital and influence, they have an opportunity to put out some sets that are girl themed and just as inventive and cool as the boy sets. The Lego friends are a start-but very limited conceptually and not very challenging to build. They have used no girl licenses whatsoever recently! Monster High would be a sure bet-and the sets could get very inventive with all the moving mechanical parts that the boy sets have. American Girl, Little House on the Prarie, Wonder Woman, Isis/Egyptian themed, etc could have appeal and work in more challenging building modules. Girls would love it!