Games Workshop says summer trading beats expectations

Games Workshop has revealed that sales over the past three months jumped ahead of expectations.

The Warhammer retailer and supplier said it will reward shareholders with a dividend payout as a result.

The London-listed company told shareholders its core revenues rose by 14% to £121 million over the three months to the end of August, compared with revenues of £106 million a year earlier.

It also recorded licensing revenue of £6 million for the quarter, up from £3 million last year.

As a result, Games Workshop said it expects pre-tax profits of £57 million, up from £39 million in the same quarter last year.

In a statement, the retail group said: “The board recognises that this performance is better than the prior year but is also aware that it is still early in the financial year.

“A further update will be given as appropriate.”

On Friday, Games Workshop said it would pay out a 50p dividend per share to its investors.

The move, which the company said is in line with its policy to distribute “truly surplus cash”, take total dividends declared to £1.95 per share this year.

Jefferies analyst Andrew Wade said: “An exceptional Q1, particularly given foreign exchange rates have moved to being a headwind, and clearly supported by the very successful launch of 40k 10th edition ‘Leviathan’.

“While upgrades have been very much anticipated by the market, this Q1 beat is more than we could have expected.”