Montreal, Canada-based toy company Mega Brands, which specializes in construction toys, games & puzzles, arts & crafts and stationery, has revealed its first quarter results for the period ended March 31, 2010.

The company saw net sales increase 13% to US$49.1 million, compared to US$43.5 million in the first quarter of 2009. The net sales increase in both North America and international markets was driven by higher shipments of construction toys in the preschool and boys categories. This is the second consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement in the corporation’s net sales.

Net earnings were US$98.2 million compared to a net loss of US$25.9 million in the first quarter of 2009. The first quarter 2010 results include a gain on settlement of debt, reflecting the positive impact of the recapitalization transaction completed on March 30, 2010.

Mega’s preschool offering had a solid performing at retail, with strong demand for core Mega Bloks product lines and incremental sales resulting from the spring launch of Thomas & Friends. The Boys business continues to build sales driven by Halo Wars and Iron Man 2.