EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Mattel Inc., the world's largest toymaker, said Monday that higher product costs and legal fees led to a loss for the first quarter, results that fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Mattel, which makes Barbie dolls, Fisher-Price toys and Matchbox cars, reported a loss of $46.6 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with last year's quarterly profit of $12 million, or 3 cents per share.
Sales fell 2 percent to $919.3 million from $940.3 million in the year-ago period.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected profit of a penny per share on higher sales of $926.6 million.
"Results were not completely surprising compared to last year's strong first quarter, which benefited from depleted retail inventories and hot properties such as T.M.X. Elmo and CARS," said Robert A. Eckert, chairman and chief executive. "Although the first quarter was impacted by higher product costs and legal fees, we expect price increases effective in June to aid profitability in the latter half of the year."
Mattel said global sales in its Fisher-Price unit fell 13 percent to $341.3 million, mainly due to declines in sales of Fisher-Price Friends products. Worldwide sales for the Barbie brand were flat, as higher international sales offset declines in the U.S.
Sales of the company's Hot Wheels, Matchbox and Tyco R/C brands gained 15 percent, led by the popular new Speed Racer toy line.
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