A strong holiday season has helped propel Spin Master to a profitable fourth quarter, offsetting a full year in which revenue dropped by 5.7% compared to 2022. 

According to yesterday’s Q4 and preliminary annual report, the Toronto-based toyco generated US$502.6 million between October and December 2023, which was up 7.9% from the same period the previous year. All three segments of the company’s core business were profitable for the quarter, with a big 76.9% lift in Entertainment revenue (US$55.2 million), thanks in part to PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie ticket sales and the delivery of CG-animated series Unicorn Academy (pictured) to Netflix. 

Meanwhile, Toys revenue for the quarter was up by 2.5% compared to Q4 2022, driven by strong sales for Bitzee digital pets, Gabby’s Dollhouse playsets and Monster Jam vehicles. An increase in subscriptions for role-playing game Toca Life World and the launch of Originator’s PAW Patrol Academy educational app also helped Spin Master achieve a 7.1% increase in Digital Games segment revenue to US$40.6 million. 

Despite these great Q4 results, as it stands now with a fiscal audit pending, the company’s full-year revenue for 2023 is sitting at US$1.9 billion, which is down by 5.7% from its 2022 take of US$2.02 billion. No product categories in the Toys segment experienced fiscal growth, and revenue for that part of the business dropped by 11.3% to US$1.5 billion year over year. Outdoor toys were hit the hardest (down 26.8%), followed by games, puzzles and plush (down 13.2%), wheels and action (down 9.2%) and preschool and dolls (down 5.7%). But these full-year results were offset by gains in Entertainment (up 60% to US$71.3 million) and Digital Games (up 6.1% to US$173.9 million).