Lego Profit Doubles as Consumers Turn to Toys During Lockdown

(Bloomberg) --

Lego A/S’s first half-profit more than doubled as consumers turned to its well-known building blocks to entertain stuck-at-home children.

Net income rose 140% to 6.3 billion kroner ($990 million), the toymaker, which is based in western Denmark, said on Wednesday. Revenue at the closely held company advanced 46%. 

Families across the globe have increased spending on consumer goods while staying at home and Lego emerged last year as a pandemic winner, booking record profits and sales. On Wednesday, Lego said its performance received an additional boost from fewer Covid-related restrictions compared with 2020 as factories could operate without interruptions and most stores have reopened.

“As we look ahead to the second half of 2021, we continue to see strong demand for our products,” Chief Executive Officer Niels B. Christiansen said in a statement. “Longer-term, we expect top-line growth to stabilize to more sustainable levels as people return to pre-pandemic spending patterns.”

The company, which is controlled by the family of billionaire Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, said top selling products included its classic Lego City series as well as boxes with themes based on the Star Wars and Harry Potter movies.

These were some of the highlights from the half-year report:

• Consumer sales grew 36%, outpacing the industry and driving market share growth in all major markets
• Operating profit jumped 104% to 8 billion kroner
• Lego said it opened 60 new branded stores in the period with more than 40 of those in China.

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