Mattel Reports Fourth Quarter And Full Year 2015 Financial Results And Declares Quarterly Dividend

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Feb. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- For the fourth quarter of 2015, Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) today reported worldwide net sales up 7% in constant currency, adjusted operating income of $310.5 million and adjusted earnings per share of $0.67, including discrete tax items. For the year, the Company reported worldwide net sales up 2% in constant currency, adjusted operating income of $640.3 million and adjusted earnings per share of $1.31, including discrete tax items.

"We are encouraged by our results in the quarter and for the year, which reflect solid progress on a number of important fronts," said Chris Sinclair, Mattel Chairman and CEO. "We achieved our goal of stabilizing the business, with improved gross sales both in the quarter and for the full year. In addition, we drove significant momentum across the majority of our core brands, most of which saw stronger retail sales and shipping, and we continued to make headway in key emerging markets like China and Russia. Overall, we are pleased with our performance at this stage of our turnaround."

Financial Overview
Fourth quarter gross sales in the North American Region, which consists of the United States, Canada and American Girl, increased by 5% in constant currency, and 4% as reported. In the International Region, gross sales were flat in constant currency, and decreased 14% as reported. Adjusted gross margin decreased 20 basis points and 20 basis points as reported, driven primarily by the negative impact from changes in currency exchange rates. Adjusted other selling and administrative expenses decreased $21.3 million, reflecting continued cost improvement initiatives. Adjusted operating income for the quarter was $310.5 million, compared to prior year's adjusted operating income of $265.1 million, reflecting lower other selling and administrative expenses and continued cost improvement initiatives.

For the year, gross sales in the North American Region increased by 1% in constant currency, and 1% as reported. In the International Region, gross sales increased by 1% in constant currency, and decreased 15% as reported. Adjusted gross margin decreased 90 basis points, and 60 basis points as reported, driven primarily by the negative impact from changes in currency exchange rates. Adjusted other selling and administrative expenses decreased $69.3 million, reflecting continued cost improvement initiatives. Adjusted operating income for the year was $640.3 million, compared to prior year's adjusted operating income of $765.3 million, reflecting the negative impact from changes in currency exchange rates, partially offset by lower other selling and administrative expenses.

The Company's debt-to-total capital ratio as of December 31, 2015 was 44.6%.

For the year, net cash flows from operating activities were approximately $735 million, compared to approximately $889 million in the prior year. The decrease was primarily driven by reductions in working capital and lower net income. Cash flows used for investing activities were approximately $283 million, a decrease of approximately $426 million versus the prior year, primarily driven by the acquisition of Mega Brands in 2014. Cash flows used for financing activities and other were approximately $531 million, compared to approximately $248 million in the prior year. The change was primarily driven by prior year net proceeds from long-term borrowings and lower proceeds from stock option exercises, partially offset by lower share repurchases.

Capital Deployment
The Board of Directors declared a 2016 first quarter cash dividend of $0.38 per share, which is flat compared to the first quarter of 2015. The dividend will be payable on March 4, 2016 to stockholders of record on February 17, 2016.

Sales by Brand

Mattel Girls and Boys Brands
For the fourth quarter, worldwide gross sales for Mattel Girls & Boys Brands were $1.14 billion, up 1% in constant currency versus the prior year. Worldwide gross sales for the Barbie brand were up 8% in constant currency. Worldwide gross sales for Other Girls brands were down 28% in constant currency. Worldwide gross sales for the Wheels category, which includes the Hot Wheels and Matchbox^® brands, were up 26% in constant currency. Worldwide gross sales for the Entertainment business, which includes Radica^® and Games, were up 16% in constant currency.

For the year, worldwide gross sales for Mattel Girls & Boys Brands were $3.46 billion, down 2% in constant currency versus the prior year. Worldwide gross sales for the Barbie brand were down 1% in constant currency. Retail sales for Barbie accelerated on a global basis in 2015, driven by continued strong performance in the United States, and improved momentum in international markets. Worldwide gross sales for Other Girls brands were down 17% in constant currency. Worldwide gross sales for the Wheels category were up 21% in constant currency. Worldwide gross sales for the Entertainment business were up 1% in constant currency.

Fisher-Price Brands
Fourth quarter worldwide gross sales for Fisher-Price Brands, which includes the Fisher-Price Core, Fisher-Price Friends and Power Wheels^® brands, were $626.2 million, up 13% in constant currency versus the prior year. For the year, worldwide gross sales for Fisher-Price Brands were $1.85 billion, up 7% in constant currency versus the prior year.

American Girl Brands
Fourth quarter gross sales for American Girl Brands, which offers American Girl-branded products directly to consumers, were $271.8 million, down 14% in constant currency versus the prior year. For the year, gross sales for American Girl Brands were $572.0 million, down 7% in constant currency versus the prior year.

Construction and Arts & Crafts Brands
Fourth quarter gross sales for Construction and Arts & Crafts Brands, which includes the MEGA BLOKS^® and RoseArt^® brands, were $130.2 million, up 11% in constant currency versus the prior year. For the year, gross sales for Construction and Arts & Crafts Brands were $351.7 million. Mattel acquired MEGA Brands Inc. on April 30, 2014.

Conference Call and Live Webcast
At 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) today, Mattel will host a conference call with investors and financial analysts to discuss its 2015 fourth quarter and full year financial results. The conference call will be webcast on the "Investors" section of the Company's corporate website: http://corporate.mattel.com/. To listen to the live call, log in to the website at least 15 minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software. An archive of the webcast will be available on the company's website for 90 days and may be accessed beginning two hours after the completion of the live call. A telephonic replay of the call will be available beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time the evening of the call until Monday, February 8, 2016, and may be accessed by dialing +1-404-537-3406. The passcode is 15869072.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements on a variety of matters. These forward-looking statements are based on currently available operating, financial, economic and other information, and are subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control, could cause actual future results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Some of these factors are described in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the "Risk Factors" section of Mattel's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014 and Mattel's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for fiscal year 2015, as well as in Mattel's other public statements. Mattel does not update forward-looking statements and expressly disclaims any obligation to do so.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement the financial results presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"), Mattel discloses certain non-GAAP financial measures within the meaning of Regulation G promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The non-GAAP financial measures presented in this release include gross sales, adjusted gross margin and adjusted gross profit, adjusted other selling and administrative expenses, adjusted operating income, adjusted earnings per share and constant currency.  Mattel uses these metrics to analyze its continuing operations and to monitor, assess and identify meaningful trends in its operating and financial performance, and are discussed in more detail below. These measures are not, and should not be viewed as, substitutes for GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found in the attached exhibits and also will be available at the time of our conference call and webcast (information above) in the "Investors" section of our corporate website, http://corporate.mattel.com/, under the subheading "Financial Information – Earnings Releases."

Gross sales
Gross sales represent sales to customers, excluding the impact of sales adjustments. Net sales, as reported, include the impact of sales adjustments, such as trade discounts and other allowances. Mattel presents changes in gross sales as a metric for comparing its aggregate, brand and geographic results to highlight significant trends in Mattel's business. Changes in gross sales are discussed because, while Mattel records the details of such sales adjustments in its financial accounting systems at the time of sale, such sales adjustments are generally not associated with individual products, making net sales less meaningful.

Adjusted gross margin and adjusted gross profit 
Adjusted gross margin represents Mattel's reported gross profit, adjusted to exclude the impact of inventory fair value markup above cost associated with the acquisition of a business, as a percentage of net sales. Adjusted gross margin is presented to provide additional perspective on underlying trends in Mattel's core gross margin.

Adjusted other selling and administrative expenses
Adjusted other selling and administrative expenses represents Mattel's reported other selling and administrative expenses, adjusted to exclude the impact of expenses associated with the acquisition and integration of an acquired business and restructuring and restructuring-related expenses. Adjusted other selling and administrative expenses is presented to provide additional perspective on underlying trends in Mattel's core other selling and administrative expenses.

Adjusted operating income
Adjusted operating income represents Mattel's reported operating income, adjusted to exclude the impact of inventory fair value markup above cost associated with the acquisition of a business, expenses associated with the acquisition and integration of an acquired business and the impact of restructuring and restructuring-related expenses. Adjusted operating income is presented to provide additional perspective on underlying trends in Mattel's core operating results.

Adjusted earnings per share
Adjusted earnings per share represents Mattel's reported diluted earnings per common share, adjusted to exclude the impact of inventory fair value markup above cost associated with the acquisition of a business, expenses associated with the acquisition and integration of an acquired business, the impact of restructuring and restructuring-related expenses and discrete tax items. Each adjustment is tax effected, if necessary, and divided by the reported weighted average number of common and potential common shares to determine the per-share impact of the adjustment. Adjusted earnings per share is presented to provide additional perspective on underlying trends in Mattel's core earnings.

Constant currency
Percentage changes in results expressed in constant currency are presented excluding the impact from changes in currency exchange rates. To present this information, current period and prior period results for entities reporting in currencies other than US dollar are translated using consistent exchange rates, rather than using the actual exchange rate in effect during the respective periods. The difference between the current period and prior period results using the consistent exchange rates reflects the changes in the underlying performance results, excluding the impact from changes in currency exchange rates. Mattel analyzes constant currency results to provide additional perspective on changes in underlying trends in Mattel's operating performance.

About Mattel
The Mattel family of companies (Nasdaq: MAT) is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products. Mattel's portfolio of best-selling brands includes Barbie®, the most popular fashion doll ever produced, Hot Wheels®, Monster High®, American Girl®, Thomas & Friends®, Fisher-Price® brands and MEGA® Brands, as well as a wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines. In 2015, Mattel was named one of the "World's Most Ethical Companies" by Ethisphere Magazine and in 2014 ranked No. 5 on Corporate Responsibility Magazine's "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list. With worldwide headquarters in El Segundo, Calif., Mattel's companies employ approximately 31,000 people in 40 countries and territories and sell products in more than 150 nations. Visit us at www.mattel.com, www.facebook.com/mattel or www.twitter.com/mattel.

Contacts:

News Media
Alex Clark
310-252-6397
[email protected]

or

Securities Analysts
Martin Gilkes
310-252-2703
[email protected]

MAT-FIN MAT-CORP

¹ Please refer to Non-GAAP Financial Measures for a glossary of definitions of non-GAAP financial measures used herein, including gross sales, adjusted gross margin and adjusted gross profit, adjusted other selling and administrative expenses, adjusted operating income, adjusted earnings per share and constant currency.

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SOURCE Mattel, Inc.