By Uday Sampath Kumar

(Reuters) – Hasbro Inc is expected to overtake Mattel Inc in quarterly sales growth for the first time since the start of the pandemic, as the return of Marvel superheroes boosts toy sales and its TV and film productions come back on track.

The Monopoly board game maker, which will report second-quarter results on Monday, has high hopes for its Entertainment One unit, the studio behind “Peppa Pig”, that returned to growth after a year of heavy COVID-19 production constraints.

The release of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and “Black Widow” is also expected to contribute to an estimated 34.7% increase in Hasbro’s second-quarter revenue through sales of toys based on the popular franchises.

Meanwhile, second-quarter sales growth at Mattel is expected to slow to 19.2% from 47.2% in the first quarter.

“I can see Hasbro taking back some of that share it lost to Mattel, with the sales it will get with the new movies releasing this year,” said Jackie Breyer, publisher of trade magazine “The Toy Book”.

(Graphics: Sales Performance: Hasbro vs. Mattel: https://graphics.reuters.com/HASBRO-RESULTS/PREVIEW/egpbknmyjvq/chart.png)

THE CONTEXT

The shutdown of TV and film production and the lack of toy sales tied to big movie releases, on which Hasbro depends more than its rival Mattel, led to a 29% drop in pro-forma revenue in the year-earlier second quarter despite higher demand for games like “Jenga” and “Twister”.

Analysts expect Hasbro to provide an outlook for the holiday season as supply disruptions and price increases cause uncertainty over what consumer demand will look like during the crucial shopping period.

(Graphics: Hasbro segment-wise revenue estimates: https://graphics.reuters.com/HASBRO-RESULTS/PREVIEW/egpbknmjjvq/chart.png)

FUNDAMENTALS

* Hasbro is expected to report revenue of $1.16 billion, according to the mean estimate from 12 analysts, based on Refinitiv data.

* Earnings per share is estimated at 47 cents per share.

* Hasbro shares have lost 0.3% year-to-date

(Graphics: Hasbro vs. Mattel: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/buzz/lgpdwmllovo/gateway.jpg)

WALL STREET SENTIMENT

* The average analyst rating on shares is “buy”, with a median 12-month price target of $112.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

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