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Bob builds $40m profits
LONDON, England -- Children's hero Bob the Builder has fixed it for owner HIT Entertainment after helping company profits nearly quadruple in a year. The cheery construction worker's huge appeal to children saw a 231 percent increase in sales of his branded products in the year ended July 2002, The Press Association reported. Along with other favourites like Barney the Dinosaur and Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder lifted HIT's underlying profits by 264 percent to £27.3 million ($42.5 million). HIT chief executive Rob Lawes said Bob and the other frontline characters showed no sign of losing their appeal. He told The Press Association: "Bob and Barney are continuing to perform extremely well. We are carefully managing them to ensure their longevity." In Britain alone, Bob's popularity amongst pre-school children has resulted in one million videos and two million books being sold. Barney the Dinosaur, now 14 years old, has been a hit for many years in the U.S., selling 4.3 million videos and 2.5 million books there this year. A recent addition to the team, Thomas the Tank Engine, was a result of the company's acquisition of rival Gullane in a £134 million deal. With this assortment of children's favourites, Lawes said that HIT's bargaining power had increased: "Bringing Thomas into the HIT portfolio gives us greater retail presence and market share, strengthening our global operations."
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