#Hasbro expects its TV and movie production back by September

Giant toymaker Hasbro expects its film and TV unit eOne, which makes animated kids shows like “Peppa Pig,” to be fully back in business by September.

Chief Executive Brian Goldner told analysts Monday that despite taking a second-quarter-hit from coronavirus-induced production delays, Hasbro will be able to restart work on its pipeline of 160 TV and movie projects.

“We have a strong entertainment lineup for 2021, through internally developed as well as third-party entertainment,” Goldner said, referring to the slate developed by eOne, the production unit Hasbro bought for $4 billion in 2019.

While live-action TV and film production has been halted by the pandemic, animation production has continued for brands like “Peppa Pig,” “PJ Masks” and Hasbro’s upcoming “My Little Pony” feature film, as animation can be accomplished without much in-person contact.

Still, Hasbro, which works with major Hollywood studios, has been impacted by the protracted closure of movie theaters and the lack of new blockbusters being released on the big screen.

Habro’s bread-and-butter toy making business was also squeezed by coronavirus-induced store closures, supply chain disruptions and lower retail inventory.

As a result, Hasbro’s quarterly revenue plummeted 29 percent, sending the toymaker’s shares down 7.6 percent in midday trading Monday.

Overall, for the quarter ended June 28, Hasbro swung to a loss of $33.9 million, or 25 cents a share. Excluding items, EPS was 2 cents on revenue of $860.3 million. Analysts expected EPS of 23 cents on revenue of $922 million.

“We believe the outlook improves from here,” Goldner said. “While the full-year COVID-19 impact geographically remains unpredictable, as stores reopen and we begin to return to production for entertainment we expect the environment to improve in the third quarter and set us up to execute a good holiday season.”