The high-octane action of Monster Jam and the innovation of Bitzee helped power a fourth quarter sales spike and revenue boost for Spin Master Corp.
The company behind PAW Patrol continued its tradition of releasing preliminary, unaudited Q4 and full year revenue and toy gross product sales results today to provide context for its performance amid earnings season for the broader toy industry. The news follows earnings reports from Mattel and Hasbro and will be confirmed after the close of business on Feb. 28. The company reports its earnings across three “creative centers” — Toys, Entertainment, and Digital Games.
Spin Master says that its total revenue for 2023 slipped 5.7% to $1.9 billion versus 2022, driven by an 11.3% decline in Toy revenue, partially offset by a 60% spike in Entertainment revenue and a 6.1% increase in Digital Games revenue.
We are very pleased with how our team navigated the challenging macroeconomic environment to deliver revenue growth in Q4. We harnessed the strength of our three creative centers to meet our full-year revenue expectations. While our Toy revenue declined for the full year compared to 2022, our POS remained ahead of the industry and we grew market share globally, by introducing innovation into the toy aisle, engaging fans of popular franchises both licensed and owned, and growing our evergreen brands to create magical play experiences for millions of children globally. We saw strong increases in Entertainment from the PAW Patrol movie and the delivery of the Unicorn Academy series, and we grew Digital Games revenue, highlighting the power of our diversified portfolio to drive long-term growth."
In Q4, Toys swung back with a 2.5% year-over-year revenue gain to help drive a 7.9% spike in revenue to $502.6 million for the quarter. While all Toy categories were down for the full year, Q4 brought a 25.9% year-over-year gain for Wheels & Action while Preschool grew by 1.5%. Activities, Games & Puzzles, and Plush were flat while Outdoor revenue slid 11.9% for the quarter. In addition to Monster Jam and Bitzee, Spin Master says that increased sales in GUND, Kinetic Sand, Gabby’s Dollhouse, and HEXBUG (which it acquired a year ago) led the Q4 boom.
For the year, Spin Master credits content delivery, including PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, Unicorn Academy, Rubble & Crew, and Vida the Vet for driving revenue gains in Entertainment while higher in-game purchases in Toca Life World powered growth in Digital Games.
Look for more from Spin Master in The BIG Toy Book, available Feb. 26.
