NEW YORK — Mattel Inc. is reporting better-than-expected first-quarter sales as demand for Hot Wheels and Barbies helped soften the blow of the closing of Toys R Us.

Mattel reported Thursday a net loss of $311.3 million, or 90 cents per share, in the quarter. That compares with a loss of $113.2 million, or 33 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Adjusted for one-time items, the loss was 60 cents per share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected an adjusted loss of 39 cents per share on average.

Worldwide revenue fell 4 percent to $708.4 million from $735.6 million in the year-ago period. The company said that excluding the impact of the Toys R Us liquidation, its sales were positive.

Analysts had been expecting $688 million in the latest quarter.

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