I usually don’t report on LEGO’s numbers but here’s something that’s a little interesting. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that LEGO’s net profit for the first half of 2016 has dropped by 2% as compared to 2015. If you’re talking currency, that’s DKr3.49bn ($525 million) which is a slight drop from DKr3.55bn in the same time from last year. While sales dropped here in the US, they increased by more than 10% over in Europe as well as in Asia.
LEGO’s Chief Financial Officer John Goodwin stated, “In the U.S., we acknowledge that we have not provided the initiatives and support needed to keep the same high level of growth.”
LEGO also stated that a rapid increase in the number of employees, by adding 3,500 new workers in 2016, along with investing in a factory in China has impacted profit growth.
It’s not that surprising that sales have slipped here in the US as there have been some things have happened like with the Porsche 911 GT3 RS being out of stock for a while and the first LEGO Star Wars UCS set of 2016 being fairly lackluster. Even then, I don’t see it being a big deal. With the holiday season just around the corner, LEGO looks to end the year on a high note and continue being the top toy company.
