Here are the highlights:
2015 full-year net revenues increased 13%, absent a negative $394.5 million impact of foreign exchange; Including the impact of foreign exchange, revenues increased 4% to $4.45 billion;
2015 revenues grew in all major operating segments and regions, absent the impact of foreign exchange; Including the impact of foreign exchange, the U.S. and Canada segment revenues increased 10%, International segment revenues declined 3% and Entertainment and Licensing segment revenues increased 11%;
Boys, Preschool and Games category revenues increased both as reported and absent the impact of foreign exchange; Franchise Brand revenues increased 7% absent the impact of foreign exchange, but declined 2% including the impact of foreign exchange;
2015 operating profit increased 9% and net earnings increased 9% to $451.8 million or $3.57 per diluted share; Adjusted net earnings increased to $445.0 million or $3.51 per diluted share, excluding the sale of manufacturing operations;
In 2015 Hasbro returned $310.7 million of cash to shareholders; Generated $552.4 million in operating cash flow for the year.
Category Breakdown
Full-year 2015 Boys category revenues increased 20% to $1.78 billion. Franchise Brand NERF revenues increased along with STAR WARS, JURASSIC WORLD and MARVEL. This growth more than offset the decline in TRANSFORMERS, which faced difficult comparisons versus 2014's theatrical release of TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION. The Boys category grew 30% absent the impact of foreign exchange.
About Foreign Exchange
For those wondering why the exchange is such a big deal in the highlights section, it's because a strong American dollar affects negatively on American companies selling products elsewhere in the world. For instance, looking at the Canadian exchange, the initial contracts were drawn up while the exchange was about the same or close. A deluxe Transformer toy priced at $17.99 will bring you back USD $17.99 in the US regardless, but in Canada, it would be priced the same $17.99 in Canadian dollars. With the American dollar getting stronger, that CDN $17.99 ends up becoming USD $12.94, thus lowering Hasbro's revenue (I am using retail prices, but we can extrapolate to the loss Hasbro has when retailers like Toysrus pay for the contracted amount later when the exchange is lower).