Thursday July 20, 12:24 pm Eastern Time

## Hasbro profits drop, cautious outlook for yr

By Deepa Babington

NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) - Pokemon mania failed to offset a slump in sales of last year's popular Star Wars and Furby products, as toy and games maker Hasbro Inc. reported sharply lower second-quarter profits and warned that its second-half would be negatively impacted by several factors.

The maker of toys and games such as G.I. Joe and Monopoly, on Thursday reported a nearly 80 percent fall in second-quarter profits, in line with Wall Street expectations.

The No. 2 U.S. toymaker said second-quarter net income fell to $6.5 million, or 4 cents a share, from $32.3 million, or 16 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected earnings of 4 cents a share, according to research firm First Call/Thomson Financial.

Hasbro shares slumped more than 20 percent, falling 3-5/16 to 12-5/8 in late morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Hasbro (NYSE:HAS - news) also said a worldwide shortage of electronic components and the weakening market for Pokemon products in the United States, among other factors, could hurt its performance in the second half of the year. The shortage of electronic chips have the potential to affect the introduction of new products slated for release later in the year, it said.

``It sounds like Pokemon has had its moment of glory and now its slowing,'' said Hayley Kissel, an analyst at Merrill Lynch Global Securities. ``When you have a hot product you never know when it'll flame out. Things flame out faster today.''

The company also said its company's interactive unit, whose second-quarter revenues dropped to $19 million from $39 million a year earlier, will not return to profitability this year.

Hasbro said its overall revenues fell to $778.4 million from $874.6 million a year earlier, despite higher Pokemon shipments worldwide.

Earlier in the year Hasbro said it expected revenue to grow at about 5 percent this year and earnings per share to rise 10 percent excluding special items.

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