toy company funtastic has returned to profitability with a net profit of $10.4 million for the 2012 financial year after a loss of $38.2 million in 2011.
the key acquisition of pillow pets and licenses to make and supply specific lego products as well as a reduction in costs and business model changes has helped the company turnaround.
during the 2012 financial year funtastic reduced core debt by $20 million and slashed costs by $12.4 million. it intends to start paying dividends to shareholders in 2013.
“the results for the full year show that we’ve not only turned around the fortunes of the company, but we’ve now ensured that funtastic is primed for a strong growth period ahead,” says stewart downs, funtastic chief executive.
“the two major toy acquisitions we made in the financial year, the pillow pets brand and the licenses to manufacture and distribute certain lego products, have proven to be very commercially successful, but i’m delighted to say we have another six new major toy product lines ready to roll out in the current financial year.
“overall our shift in the business model away from a promotionally driven business to a clearly sustainable model based on everyday core brands and acquisition of toy rights has proven to be successful.
“we’ve narrowed our product range, increased our margins and we have also completely re-engineered the business to achieve a more appropriate cost base. that all adds up to stronger profits in the future.”
