(Reuters) - Hasbro Inc (O:HAS), the second-largest U.S. toymaker, reported a 43 percent jump in quarterly profit, helped by higher demand for its Transformers, Marvel and Stars Wars action figures in emerging markets such as Latin America and the Asia Pacific region.
Hasbro owns the popular "Transformers" brand and holds toy licenses for Marvel Comics characters such as Spider-Man and Iron Man, which have had phenomenal box office success over the past few years.
Sales of boys' toys, Hasbro's largest business, rose 22 percent to $478.5 million (378.80 million pounds), helped by higher sales of Nerf guns.
International segment revenue rose 11 percent to $649.3 million, helped by 29 percent growth in sales from emerging markets, the company said in a statement.
Hasbro's U.S. and Canada sales, which account for more than half of total revenue, rose 4 percent to $764.3 million.
Larger rival Mattel Inc (O:MAT) reported its fourth straight fall in quarterly sales last week as demand for its billion-dollar brands, Barbie and Fisher-Price, slipped further.
Net income attributable to Hasbro rose to $180.5 million, or $1.40 per share, in third quarter ended Sept. 28, from $126.6 million, or 96 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, Hasbro earned $1.46 per share.
Total revenue rose 7.3 percent to $1.47 billion.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.45 per share on revenue of $1.47 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Hasbro's shares were little changed in premarket trading on Monday. The stock closed at $53.85 on the Nasdaq on Friday.
(Reporting by Shailaja Sharma and Nayan Das in Bangalore; Editing by Simon Jennings)