Mattel CEO resigns, toy maker results miss expectations

Mattel chairman and CEO Bryan Stockton has resigned after the struggling maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars reported fourth-quarter results that fell far short of analyst expectations.

The company said longtime board member Christopher A. Sinclair will replace Stockton as chairman and interim CEO.

The toy maker also disclosed that its net income tumbled 59 percent to $149.9 million from $369.2 million in the three months that ended Dec. 31. On a per-share basis, Mattel earned 44 cents per share in the most recent quarter, or 52 cents per share not counting hits from integration costs and taxes.

Revenue fell 6 percent to $1.99 billion.

Analysts forecast, on average, earnings of 91 cents per share on $2.14 billion in revenue, according to the data firm FactSet.

Mattel has struggled for several quarters now with slumping sales of its iconic Barbie dolls.

Making matters worse, late last year, Barbie lost its top spot on the crucial holiday wish lists of girls to merchandise from the Disney hit “Frozen.” The National Retail Federation’s Holiday Top Toys Survey found that one in five parents, or 20 percent, planned to buy “Frozen” merchandise for their girls. That beat the 16.8 percent that are looking to make a Barbie purchase.

Stockton became CEO in January 2012 and then was named chairman a year later. Sinclair said in a statement from the company that the Mattel board believed it was the right time for a change in leadership to maximize the company’s potential.

Mattel will announce full results from its quarter on Friday.

The company’s stock fell 45 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $27.60 in Monday morning trading after falling as low as $24.88 earlier in the session, while broader indexes slipped less 1 percent. Mattel shares are coming off a year in which their price sank 35 percent, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 11.4 percent.

BY TOM MURPHY, AP Business Writer