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LEGO

Lego stacks up profits after building away from bricks

Lego said Wednesday it had managed to assemble growing sales and profits in 2018 thanks to its diversification away from its iconic coloured plastic bricks.

Published: 27 February 2019 14:05 CET
Lego stacks up profits after building away from bricks
File photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

At a time when it isn't all fun and games for makers of traditional toys due to digital diversions for children, Lego managed to build profits in 2018.

The world-renowned Danish brand has in recent years moved strongly into areas such as video games, movies, cartoons and Legoland amusement parks.

Net profit at the group rose by 3.5 percent last year to more than 8 billion kroner (roughly 1.1 billion euros) on revenues that climbed 4 percent to 36.4 billion kroner.

Sales rose across the world and Lego aims to consolidate its position in the Chinese market by opening 80 shops in 18 cities.

Lego fared better than its US rival Mattel, maker of the Barbie doll, which suffered a loss of $531 million last year.

READ ALSO: Bankruptcy of Danish toy store chain reflects pressure on retail sector

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BUSINESS

Denmark’s toy giant Lego offers staff bonus after bumper year

Danish toymaker Lego, the world's largest toymaker, Denmark's Lego, said on Tuesday it will offer its 20,000 employees three extra days of holiday and a special bonus after a year of bumper revenues.

Published: 30 November 2021 14:27 CET
Lego is rewarding staff with a Christmas bonus and extra holiday after a strong 2022.
Lego is rewarding staff with a Christmas bonus and extra holiday after a strong 2022. File photo: Ida Guldbæk Arentsen/Ritzau Scanpix

Already popular globally, Lego has seen demand for its signature plastic bricks soar during the pandemic alongside its rapid expansion in China.

“The owner family wishes to… thank all colleagues with an extra three days off at the end of 2021,” the company said in a statement.

The unlisted family group reported a net profit of more than 6.3 billion Danish kroner (847 million euros) for the first half of 2021.

Revenues shot up 46 percent to 23 billion kroner in the same period.

It had been “an extraordinary year for the Lego Group and our colleagues have worked incredibly hard,” said the statement, which added that an unspecified special bonus would be paid to staff in April 2022.

Lego, a contraction of the Danish for “play well” (leg godt), was founded in 1932 by Kirk Kristiansen, whose family still controls the group which employs about 20,400 people in 40 countries.

READ ALSO: Lego profits tower to new heights as stores reopen

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