“An exceptional year” with “record” results. That’s how Lego CEO Niels Christiansen described 2024, on the occasion of the publication of the little brick manufacturer’s annual report on Tuesday 11 March. Net profit rose by 5% to €1.8bn with revenue of almost €10bn.
The Danish group has once again confirmed its position as the world’s leading toy manufacturer, and its success continues to stand out in a sluggish toy market. Consuer sales rose by 12% last year, whilst the toy market grew by a meagre 1%.
“We have products that appeal to many different consumer groups, and this has worked all over the world,” Niels Christiansen told AFP. Above all, a detailed look at the annual report shows that innovation remains a driving force for the company, with 46% of new products last year.
Trial and error on raw material
Franchises, such as Lego Star Wars and Harry Potter, and partnerships--notably with the publisher of the video game Fortnite and Formula One--continue to boost sales. The Danish group is also continuing to look for the best solution when it comes to Lego’s raw material--plastic, which is derived from oil, and therefore has a negative impact from an ecological point of view.
The firm announced in 2021 that it would be able to manufacture its famous little blocks from recycled plastic bottles, but gave up in 2023 because “using recycled polyethylene terephthalate [PET] would have resulted in higher carbon emissions over the life of the product,” Christiansen had explained. However, Lego is not abandoning its objectives of reducing its emissions by 37% by 2032 and is now focusing on the reuse of its products and plastics from renewable sources.
The company is also navigating against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty and threats of tariffs with the election of Donald Trump as US president. “It doesn’t keep me awake at night,” Christiansen told AFP, while admitting that, “like any CEO, I prefer free trade. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen these fluctuations, and each time we’ve been able not to overreact.”
This article was originally published in .