The stock price of Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT), the largest toy manufacturer worldwide, declined by more than 10% to $38.49 per share during the mid-afternoon trading on Friday after reporting disappointing sales results for the fourth quarter.
Financial results
Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) reported that its net sales for the fourth quarter declined 6% to $2.11 billion from $2.26 billion in the same period last year.
According to the toy maker, its operating income for the quarter increased from $373.5 million to $479.3 million. Its earnings per share was $1.07 compared with $0.87 in the year-ago quarter.
For the full year 2013, Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) reported $6.48 billion net sales, an increase of 1% from $6.42 billion last year. According to the company, its operating income was $1.17 billion, up from $1.02 billion last year and it earning per share was $2.58 compared with its $2.22 last year.
Failed to meet growth expectations
Bryan G. Stockton, chairman and CEO of Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) said. “By every account, 2013 was a challenging and transformative year at retail. Overall, the global toy industry held up pretty well, but we did not meet our growth expectations for the fourth quarter, or the full year, mainly driven by weakness in the U.S. market.”
Stockton added that the girl’s portfolio of Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) experienced strong growth globally. According to him, the company will continue to invest in emerging markets particularly in China and Russia where it has significant growth.
“Looking ahead, Mattel enters 2014 with the strongest global portfolio of brands, countries and customers in the toy industry. We must now effectively execute against our strategy to grow the business and deliver superior shareholder value,” said Stockton.
The board of directors of Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) approved a dividend payment of $0.38 per share for the first quarter of 2013. The current dividend represents an annual dividend of $1.52 per share, up by 6% from last year.
During the fourth quarter, the toy maker repurchased 2 million shares of its common stock worth approximately $83 million. For the entire year 2013, the company bought back total of 11 million shares with a market value of approximately $469 million.
