Spin Master’s Toy and Entertainment sectors both enjoyed a Q4 turnaround driven by standout performances from Bitzee, Gabby’s Dollhouse, Monster Jam and Unicorn Academy.
Spin Master has become the latest toy company to reveal its preliminary full year and Q4 2023 results, following on from those released by Hasbro and Mattel in recent days.
Despite a full-year revenue decline of -5.7% ($1.9b) versus 2022, the company has published a strong set of Q4 results, showing marked revenue gains in Entertainment and more modest gains in Toys and Digital Games. Referred to as the company’s ‘three creative centres’, all pulled off performances in the Golden Quarter that helped offset what was overall a challenging year for the company’s Toy sector. Q4 revenue was $502.6m, up +7.9% from $465.8m thanks to increases in Entertainment (+76.9%/$55.2m), Toy (+2.5%) and Digital Games (7.1%).
Unicorn Academy, Rubble & Crew, Vida the Vet and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie were the major drivers within Entertainment in Q4, while Bitzee, Gabby’s Dollhouse, Monster Jam and Hexbug helped cement a $10.1m increase in Toy revenue for the period. Spin Master finished Q4 2023 with revenues of $502.6m, up + 7.9% on the same period in 2022 ($465.8).
Bitzee and Gabby’s Dollhouse also helped offset full-year 2023 declines in Toys, though revenue decreased -$196.7m (11.3%) with declines across all categories.
Entertainment and Digital Games remained strong throughout the year, however, with the former up an impressive +60% ($71.3m) and the latter up +6.1% ($10m). Again, properties including Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, Unicorn Academy, Rubble & Crew and Vida the Vet helped the company’s Entertainment division pull a notably strong performance out of the bag, leaving Max Rangel, global president and CEO of Spin Master, ‘very pleased’ with how the company navigated the ‘challenging macroeconomic environment’ seen in Q4.
He said: “We harnessed the strength of our three creative centres 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.”
