Lego builds higher profit thanks to cinema tie-ups
TOY firm Lego posted a sharp rise in profits yesterday, boosted by bumper sales of its popular Star Wars and Harry Potter tie-ins.
Net income at the company increase by 12 per cent to a record 4.16bn Danish krone (£470m) in 2011, while revenues rose 17 per cent to reach 18.7bn krone.
The group said sales of its licensed products – which include the Harry Potter, Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean – were “considerably above expectations”, offsetting weakness in some of its key Western European markets.
Its most recent new toy, the Lego Ninjago range, was the company’s biggest product launch ever at the start of the year, but its online venture Lego Universe did not meet expectations, and has been discontinued as of the end of January this year.
Lego said it expected its European markets to remain stagnant over the coming year, with minor increases across the rest of the world in its traditional toys.
Lego was founded in Bilund, Denmark in 1932, and is still owned by the family of its inventor, Kirk Kristiansen.