Toy maker Hasbro saw its second-quarter revenues jump thanks in part to a rebound in film and TV series deliveries from its Entertainment One division.
Overall, entertainment division revenue rose 47 percent to $226.7 million, against a year-earlier $154.1 million, as deliveries of scripted, unscripted and animated TV series recovered following an end to pandemic-era production lockdowns. The eOne division delivered episodes of Cruel Summer and The Rookie and did content deals for kids series like My Little Pony, Peppa Pig and PJ Masks.
Shares in Hasbro jumped $8.82, or 9.5 percent, to $101.23 in trading on Monday morning. Overall, the toy maker shrunk its net loss by 32 percent to $22.9 million or $0.17 per diluted share, driven in part by a loss recorded on assets held for sale related to the eOne Music business.
A charge of $101.8 million related to the loss on eOne Music assets and $7.3 million in related transaction costs were posted during the latest quarter.
Hasbro completed the sale of the eOne Music business in the beginning of the fiscal third quarter 2021.
The division was sold to entities controlled by Blackstone, which also owns SESAC, a leading music rights organization purchased for a reported $1 billion in 2017.
The deal for eOne Music follows Hasbro acquiring eOne for $3.8 billion as part of a 2019 merger deal for the Canadian indie film and TV studio and distributor. That transaction included the eOne kids series Peppa Pig and PJ Masks and other top properties like Nickelodeon’s Ricky Zoom.
