Monday, April 20, 2009

Hasbro 1st-quarter profit falls 47 percent

Hasbro Inc. said Monday that first-quarter profit fell 47 percent as retailers cut back on their inventory, but the toy maker said products tied into new movies like the upcoming Transformers film should boost future results.

The maker of board games such as Clue and Scrabble also said it instituted a salary freeze and is hiring only for critical positions in an effort to cut costs.

'We don't believe these results are a reflection of the underlying strength of our brands,' Chief Executive Brian Goldner said in a conference call. Instead, he said, they were a by-product of retailers cutting inventory levels in the poor economy.