Bob the Builder takes a breather

BOB the Builder is taking a sabbatical, having produced huge growth for owner HIT Entertainment in a four-year dash around construction sites across Britain and the US.

Last year, revenue generated by Bob dropped 13%, but he still delivered 30% of HIT's total sales, which rose 40% to £169m in the year to end-July.

So Bob is taking a bit of a breather, not that preschoolers - or parents - will notice. Chief executive Rob Lawes said Bob would produce no growth this year but should come back strongly in 2005, with new episodes and marketing deals for toys and games.

In the meantime, he said, Barney the Dinosaur, Thomas the Tank Engine and the newly-launched Rubbadubbers are taking more than their fair share of the ever-growing number of kids' TV channels and their merchandise still claims their parents' cash.

Headline profits for the year rose 45% to £39.5m, bang in line with City forecasts, most of the increase coming from last year's £134m takeover of Gullane. The dividend doubles to 0.62p.

Lawes said Bob continued to grow rapidly outside its two main countries and the breadth of HIT's portfolio of characters 'underpins long-term prospects'.