Despite challenges in its Boys toy category, including sales of Marvel and Beyblade products, Hasbro posted an adjusted earnings increase of 5% during the third quarter of this year, assisted by stronger sales of Star Wars and Transformers toys.

Sales for the quarter were US$172.5 million compared to US$164.9 million for the same period in 2012. Revenue rose 2% to US$1.37 billion as international revenue grew by 11% and US revenue fell by 5%.

The Rhode Island-based toyco’s entertainment and licensing segment experienced growth, with net revenues climbing 13% to US$48.6 million, due largely to higher entertainment revenue and the company’s recent acquisition of mobile developer Backflip Studios.

Additional growth occurred in Hasbro’s Girls and Games categories, which were up 29% and 6%, respectively. Properties including Furby, My Little Pony, Nerf Rebelle and My Little Pony Equestria Girls drove revenue increases in the Girls category, while the new Telepods mobile gaming platform and its lucrative Angry Birds Star Wars tie-in, along with Magic: The Gathering and Jenga, helped boost Hasbro’s Games growth.

The gains were offset by a 17% decline in Boys revenues, which dipped to US$392 million versus US$471.1 million for the same period a year ago. On the preschool side, despite growth in sales of products based on Sesame Street, Play-Doh and Transformers Rescue Bots, category revenue fell 2%.