News

Anime Broadcaster 4Kids Releases Quarterly Results

4Kids Entertainment, which produces and broadcasts edited versions of various children-oriented anime such as Magical DoReMi, Tokyo Mew Mew, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monster GX, has released its quarterly report for the second quarter of 2007. In this period, 4Kids' net revenues declined some 28% to approximately US$12 million. During the same period last year, revenues were US$16.7 million. 4Kids also announced an overall net loss of US$2.2 million for the quarter and US$2.6 million for the first six months of the year. This compares to profits of US$34,000 and US$1.6 million for the first quarter and first six months, respectively, of 2006.

The Motley Fool stock analyst Steven Mallas, who also reported on 4Kids' first-quarter financials earlier in the year, calls this quarter's results "forgettable." He is particularly concerned that much of 4Kids' potential success is tied to its ability to tap into particular trends or "hot properties" at very specific times. Mallas also notes the high amounts of cash the company is using to finance ongoing operations. Overall, he recommends that investors who are looking into companies that focus on the children's entertainment market turn their attention to Mattel or Hasbro instead.