By Mary Ellen Lloyd Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Hasbro Inc. (HAS) on Friday reiterated its expectation for 2010 revenue growth and the company's 10th year in a row of per-share earnings growth, although executives warned quarterly results may be choppy. "You should not necessarily expect revenue and EPS growth in every quarter," Chief Operating Officer David Hargreaves said during a presentation to analysts that was broadcast on the Web. "Without the pipeline filling for Transformers and G.I. Joe to drive shipments in the first half and with many [new toy] product introductions in the fall, like Beyblade, we expect 2010 will be more back-half loaded." Hasbro's financial results in the first half of 2009 benefited as the toy maker shipped products to retailers that were tied in with the movie hits "Transformers 3" and "G.I. Joe." Together, those movies generated about $725 million in 2009 sales for Hasbro. This year, Hasbro will be shipping toys tied to the movie, "Ironman 2," in the first half, but executives don't expect that movie to generate as much in toy sales as Transformers. Meanwhile, it plans to relaunch Beyblade, which was popular in 2003, in the fall. Hasbro also reiterated its medium-term objectives for 5% compound annual growth in revenue or better, and for operating margins to be at least 15%. Input costs for 2010 aren't expected to affect overall profitability, and foreign exchange should have a favorable impact on results, Hargreaves said. Executives said they continue to expect costs tied to Hasbro's joint-venture children's television network and its studio will hurt 2010 earnings by between 25 and 30 cents a share. President and Chief Executive Brian Goldner said the creators of the first two Transformers movies are working on a new show for the TV network, which is called the Hub and is a joint venture with Discovery Communications (DISCA). That show will begin in the fall. The creators of other TV shows, including "Rugrats," "Clone Wars" and "Ben 10" are also working on new shows for the Hub, Goldner said. -By Mary Ellen Lloyd, Dow Jones Newswires, 704-948-9145; maryellen.lloyd@dowjones.com
