JAKKS Pacific® Reports First Quarter 2009 Results

JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) announces results for the Company’s first quarter ended March 31, 2009.

First quarter 2009 net sales were $108.7 million, compared to $130.9 million recorded in the comparable period last year. The Company had a net loss for the first quarter of $10.8 million, or $0.40 per share, compared to net income of $0.9 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, in 2008.

“Both sell-in and sell-through in the first quarter were light, as expected,” said Jack Friedman, JAKKS’ Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer. “And, our results were also impacted by closeout sales that affected gross margins and by incremental overhead costs related to the addition of our newly acquired divisions.”

JAKKS’ President and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Berman added, “Our value-driven portfolio of products has been well-received by our retail partners. We believe our key items will be both appealing and attainable to consumers, and will buoy sales in the second half of the year. Strong contributors will likely come from our Girl Gourmet and EyeClops-branded product lines, as well as Disney pretend play products and various boys’ action toys, as well as Halloween costumes from our new Disguise division, which will not significantly contribute to revenues and profitability until the third quarter of this year.”

Operations used cash in the quarter of $6.9 million, but our financial position remains very strong. As of March 31, 2009, our working capital was $313.5 million, including cash and equivalents and marketable securities of $146.0 million, and we continue to evaluate potential acquisition opportunities while executing on internal growth initiatives.

As for our 2009 guidance, we are still planning to grow full-year revenue above 2008 levels to $920 million. Taking into consideration the economic climate and continuing margin pressures, we are revising our earnings guidance to $1.70 to $2.00 per diluted share.

Conference Call

JAKKS Pacific will host a conference call on Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 9:00a.m. ET when the Company will discuss the first quarter results in more detail. Anyone interested will be able to listen to the live teleconference, scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. ET on April 23, 2009, via the Internet at investors.jakks.com. The website will host an archive of the teleconference for 30 days. A telephonic playback will be available from 11:00 a.m. ET on April 23, 2009 through 11:00 a.m. ET on May 23, 2009. The playback can be accessed by calling 888-843-8996, or 630-652-3044 for international callers, pass code “24387169.”

About JAKKS Pacific, Inc.

JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) is a leading designer and marketer of toys and consumer products, with a wide range of products that feature some of the most popular children's toy licenses in the world. JAKKS’ diverse portfolio includes Action Figures, Art Activity Kits, Stationery, Writing Instruments, Performance Kites, Water Toys, Sports Activity Toys, Vehicles, Infant/Pre-School, Plush, Construction Toys, Electronics, Dolls, Dress-Up, Role Play, and Pet Toys and Accessories, sold under various proprietary brands including JAKKS Pacific®, Play Along®, Flying Colors®, Creative Designs International™, Road Champs®, Child Guidance®, Pentech®, Funnoodle®, Go Fly a Kite®, Color Workshop®, JAKKS Pets™, EyeClops®, Plug It In & Play TV Games™, Girl Gourmet™, Kids Only®, Tollytots® and Disguise. JAKKS is an award-winning licensee of several hundred nationally and internationally known trademarks including Disney, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., World Wrestling Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Graco and Cabbage Patch Kids. JAKKS and THQ Inc. participate in a joint venture that has worldwide rights to publish and market World Wrestling Entertainment video games. For further information, visit www.jakks.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about JAKKS Pacific's business based partly on assumptions made by its management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such statements due to numerous factors, including, but not limited to, those described above, changes in demand for JAKKS' products, product mix, the timing of customer orders and deliveries, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and difficulties with integrating acquired businesses. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date on which they are made, and JAKKS undertakes no obligation to update any of them to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.