New York - Mattel, maker of the classic Barbie doll, said Friday profits fell 3 per cent in the third-quarter. Weaker sales of the iconic doll led profits down to 230 million dollars, as revenues dipped 8 per cent to 1.8 billion dollars, the world's largest toy-maker said from its El Segundo, California headquarters.
Negative exchange rates and too few new toys on offer pushed down earnings. Last year, film tie-ins from movies such as The Dark Knight and Kung Fu Panda boosted earnings, leaving last quarter's sales to fall behind without a hot new item. The company is also still fighting losses from the sale of toys made in China that contained lead and earlier this week reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit.
While Barbie sales in the US remained steady in the United States during the quarter, sales in the rest of the world fell 8 per cent. Sales of Fisher Price brand preschool toys also fell.
