Hasbro Inc held their third quarter conference call yesterday where the talked about the successes of the company as a way to try to inflate their stock price, as you would expect any business to do.  However, as you would alsl expect, there was Transformers news which came out of the call.  The core news was their official confirmation of Transformers 5 as well mentioned how the live-action Transformers and G.I.Joe franchises along with the Star Wars license will be key over the next several years for the boys toys division.

They also announced that Allspark Pictures, a trademark application we picked up on the 13th August 2013, related to a new live-action movie division of Hasbro which will be used to release movies of Hasbro properties with the first two movies being My Little Pony and Jem and the Holograms.  It is also likely (and this is currently speculation on our part but we hope to be able to confirm this shortly) likely to be the studio that will release both the Micronauts franchise and Visionaries.

"Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner:

Transformers: Age of Extinction delivered over 1 billion dollars at the global box office. This result, coupled with an innovative new line, drove strong year-over-year revenue gains in TRANSFORMERS. Through the first nine months of the year, TRANSFORMERS revenues are greater in international markets than in the U.S. and Canada segment, reflecting the mix of box office results and the global expansion of Hasbro. Overall, the brand is performing in line with the last movie year and we are well into development for the next installments of TRANSFORMERS content. This includes new television programming, as well as collaborating with the film makers on our next ideas to re-invent and re-imagine the TRANSFORMERS brand in movies.

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This new relationship is a terrific complement to the prolific boys’ entertainment slate over the next several years, including film and television entertainment from Marvel and Lucasfilm, as well as the next theatrical installments of Hasbro’ s brands, G.I. JOE and TRANSFORMERS.

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In the first quarter 2015, we are launching the next installment of TRANSFORMERS television programming, Transformers: Robots in Disguise. The all new show will debut on Cartoon Network in the U.S., the top-rated primetime network for boys' ages 6-11 and 9-14. Hasbro has developed tremendous expertise in producing animation. We are working with the world’s best studios and we know how to produce top quality animation cost effectively. As our content strategy and all-screen strategy evolve, we are building upon our experience in animation and storytelling. In addition to television, there are select films where we are taking greater control of the process. We have two movies we are currently developing under our new film label, Allspark Pictures. These films are MY LITTLE PONY and JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS.

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We envision Allspark Pictures as a new way to make fresh and compelling movies, based on new and existing Hasbro brands, for audiences globally.

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Deb Thomas, Hasbro CFO:

Entertainment and Licensing segment revenues grew 10%, fueled primarily by lifestyle licensing revenues for Hasbro Franchise Brands, including MY LITTLE PONY and TRANSFORMERS.

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Cost of sales as a percentage of revenue in the quarter declined. This decline continues to reflect growth in entertainment properties, including TRANSFORMERS and MARVEL properties, as well as higher Entertainment and Licensing revenues.

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Q&A Session:

During the Q&A Session, Mr. Goldner mentioned that AllSpark Pictures was formed in order to increase the focus and effort towards Live Action Movies.

Mr. Goldner also mentioned that Rescue Bots will continue on the newly rebranded Discovery Family.

A question was asked about the success of AOE. The CEO mentioned that he is happy with the growing emerging market for Transformers. He mentioned that they will continue to cater the success of the Chinese market. The second question targeted the International vs. US success of Age Of Extinction. Brian Goldner felt ok with the results, judging by his response.

CEO also explained why Titan Heroes line exists (it was as if he knew the Fan question). He mentioned that the line is mostly targeted at emerging markets due to their low prices"

Credit goes to TFW2005.com for the transcript of the call