November 10, 2007	Saturday	Shawwal 28, 1428

OTTAWA, Nov 9: Stung by a toy market “under siege”, Mega Brands posted an unexpected third-quarter loss on Friday, hurt by recall costs, inventory write-downs, supply glitches and shaky consumer confidence.

Investors dumped the stock, which sank to an all-time low of C$9.98 on the Toronto Stock Exchange before edging up to C$10.02. The 32.5-per cent decline shaved about C$184 million from the firm’s market value.

Canada’s biggest toy maker said it lost $11 million, or 31 cents a share, in the period ended Sept 30. That compares with a profit of $18 million, or 53 cents, in the same period last year.

Analysts had expected a profit of 76 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.—Reuters