Hasbro recently had its third-quarter earnings call, and during their presentation explained how it views the Power Rangers brand and what it expects from it financially over the course of the next year.
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Hasbro had a lot to cover, including some reorganizational moves it is making within. In the official press release that accompanied the call Hasbro laid out what it calls Emerging Brands, and revenues in this group grew 2% to bring in $135.3 million. That Emerging Brand group currently includes Lost Kitties, Lock Stars, and Yellies, and Power Rangers is also now a part of this category (via Seeking Alpha).
During the call, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner was asked about Power Rangers, specifically when they expect to see the first revenue from the franchise.
“Sure. First, you’re already starting to see some of the POWER RANGER licensing revenues come into the company,” Goldner said. “And we indicated that in our Entertainment and Licensing business. And then in terms of toys and games product sales, that really begins in Q2 next year. There’s a sell-off period for the prior product which is first quarter. We feel like putting POWER RANGERS in the Emerging Brand category is a good place to start. But you’re right. It certainly in our estimation is a Franchise Brand in the making. And we’re hoping and we’re certain that our great team that is working on that brand out of the West Coast is very focused on ensuring that brand becomes a Franchise Brand in the future.”
CFO Deborah Thomas also gave a recap of how much is left to pay in regards to the acquisition of Power Rangers.
“In mid-June, we closed on our acquisition of POWER RANGERS and other entertainment assets from Saban Properties. At closing, we paid approximately $155 million in cash and issued approximately 3.1 million shares of common stock to Saban. We have remaining cash payments of $100 million due in 2019.”
“During the third quarter, we returned $159.5 million to shareholders, including $80 million in dividends and repurchasing $79.5 million in common stock. Year-to-date repurchases totaled $192.3 million. Our full year share repurchases are expected to partially offset the shares issued in connection with the POWER RANGERS acquisition. We expect to continue opportunistically repurchasing shares in the open market.”
2019 will be quite the year for Power Rangers, which will see Hasbro’s era of the franchise begin with Beast Morphers. In addition to the show-related merchandise, the Lightning Collection will also be launching, which so far has only been revealed to include the White Ranger, but you can expect more announcements mostly likely early next year.
