Mattel 2nd-quarter profit tops view; shares up

By Aarthi Sivaraman

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mattel Inc (MAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), fresh off a big court victory over Bratz dolls, posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday on higher sales of products tied to movies like "Speed Racer" and "Kung Fu Panda," and its shares rose 12 percent.

Mattel, whose brands include Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels, won a convincing win Thursday in a copyright infringement suit against Bratz doll maker MGA Entertainment Inc over ownership of the original drawings for the $1 billion-plus Bratz franchise.

Mattel, the world's top toymaker, said second-quarter net income fell 48 percent to $11.8 million, or 3 cents a share, from $22.8 million, or 6 cents a share, a year earlier.

Still, the profit topped analysts' average target of 2 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

"For the long term, the victory in the court regarding Bratz will have a far more lasting impact than worrying about what might or might not have transpired in the second quarter, which is clearly not a very important quarter," said David Liebowitz, managing director at Burnham Securities.

Sales rose 11 percent to $1.11 billion. Sales increased 3 percent in the United States and 15 percent internationally.

Worldwide Barbie sales fell 6 percent. In the U.S., Barbie sales slid 21 percent, Chief Financial Officer Kevin Farr said on a conference call.

While international sales results were helped by a weak dollar, sales of its Fisher-Price brand rose 4 percent after a drop in the previous quarter.