Toymaker Mattel's quarterly sales rise after two years of fall

(Reuters) - Mattel Inc posted a surprise increase in quarterly net sales, its first rise in more than two years, as sales of its Barbie dolls recovered and demand rose for its Hot Wheels toys.

The company's shares jumped 7.4 percent to $28.75 in extended trading on Monday.

Mattel launched its traditionally Caucasian Barbie doll in a variety of skin tones, hairstyles and outfits last year to appeal to a larger demography.

Sales of Barbie dolls, which had fallen for the past two years, rose 0.5 percent to $327.6 million in the fourth quarter.

The company also launched Barbie dolls in three new body shapes - tall, curvy and petite - last week to attract young girls, who increasingly prefer electronic toys and tablets to dolls.

 

Sales in the Wheels category, which includes Hot Wheels toys, rose 17 percent to $271.8 million, driven by Star Wars-licensed toys such as "Jedi Starfighter Starship" and the popular "Millennium Falcon Starship".

Mattel's net sales increased 0.3 percent to $2 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 31.

Analysts on average had expected net sales to fall 4.2 percent to $1.91 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Mattel's net income rose 43.6 percent to $215.2 million, or 63 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 61 cents.

(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey)