Hasbro (HAS) Brian Goldner on Q2 2016 Results

Acquisition of animation studio Boulder Strong

“Last week we significantly enhanced our animation capabilities with the acquisition of Boulder Media. Boulder is a leading animation studio based in Dublin, Ireland. This 150 person-team is creating award-winning content for networks around the world. We are very excited to Boulder join Hasbro, as we build a world-class team in storytelling and content-creation. The acquisition is not expected to have material impact on our 2016 financial results, but strategically it reflects our mindset of investing in capabilities around the brand blueprint.”

Capturing excitement created by social media

“By responding quickly and bringing games to market in only a few months, we are capturing the excitement created by social media in our face-to-face gaming business. Hasbro’s newest game, identified through our social listening expertise, is Speak Out. Available this fall, the game captures the excitement around mouthpiece challenge videos.”

Current brands and future launches position us well heading into fall and holiday season

“Hasbro franchise brands increased 3% overall, or 5% absent FX, with double-digit growth from both NERF and PLAY-DOH. Revenues from our partner’s brands increased 15%, led by STAR WARS and the addition of DISNEY PRINCESS and DISNEY’S FROZEN. These brands and future launches, including the introduction of Furby Connect, Dreamworks Trolls, and products supporting the December release of Lucasfilm’s ROGUE 1, A STAR WARS Story, position us well heading into the fall and holiday season.”

SK Addition

The toy industry continues to grow at a good rate around the world

“If you look around the world, the industry is growing at quite a good rate. In most markets around the world it’s growing from mid to high single digits. In a few markets it’s growing as high as double digits, including Spain, Italy, Russia, and Mexico. Our business continues to grow around the world.”