Trading card maker Topps projects 2021 sales will be as much as $760 million, or around 10% more than projections presented to investors at the start of June, according to SEC documents.
Topps detailed its first-quarter financials and outlook for the rest of the year in a regulatory filing this morning. The business said its first-quarter 2021 sales were up 55% to $166.6 million, a top-line figure the company previously disclosed. Today’s filing provides in-depth detail on the business, including an increase in management’s revenue projection to $740-$760 million for the year, up from $692 million last disclosed on June 3 in an investor presentation.
The company highlighted its sports and entertainment business as a top performer in the first quarter. That group saw sales more than double, with both physical, digital and gift sets all posting more than 100% growth. The Sports and Entertainment group is about two-thirds of Topps’ business. The balance of the business—Confections, which includes the brands Bazooka gum and Ring Pops—performed much more modestly, posting an 11% sales gain in the period. With the surge in sales, Topps’ net income also vaulted higher, to $23.4 million from $421,000 a year ago.
Topps is a privately held company controlled by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner. It is merging with a SPAC, Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corp II, in a transaction that will both make Topps publicly traded and leave Eisner firmly in control of the business through a special class of super voting shares. Former U.S. women’s soccer national team coach Jill Ellis and Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry will join Topps’ board when the transaction is completed later this year.