Warhammer retailer’s ‘healthy growth’ sends shares up sharply

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Nottingham-based Warhammer game developer Games Workshop said on Friday that its revenue rose 14% in the three months to August 27, adding that the performance “exceeded the board’s expectations” .

The announcement ahead of next annual meeting sent the company’s shares up 11.8% to £11.62 by lunchtime on Friday. Games Workshop said revenue growth was “driven by healthy growth across all channels”. The company’s shares listed on the London Stock Exchange rose 63% last year.

The gathering comes as the world of Warhammer is set to be transformed into a series of video games, TV shows and movies, with statues made by Games Workshop set to appear on screen. The company’s first sign of a move toward digital came in December last year when it struck a deal with Amazon.

Core revenue for the quarter ended August 27 rose 14% from the same quarter in 2022 to £121 million. Licensing revenue doubled to £6m from £3m a year ago.

A trailer for the cross-platform video game series was released this week, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Traderalso revealed a December 7 release date for the game on PC, Mac, Xbox, and PlayStation.

Panmure Gordon analyst Alex Chatterton said results were expected to be strong this quarter due to new product launches. But the news was more positive than he expected.

“They just released a new version of Warhammer 40k, which is their most popular series, and once they release this new content, you’re going to see an uptick in sales,” he said.

He added that the next catalyst for the company’s strong performance is the Amazon deal.

“You’ll get the initial recognition for licensing revenue, but the real long-term benefit is getting more people to fall in love with the hobby,” he said.

Previously, demand for tabletop statues had intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic due to the widespread popularity of gaming during the lockdown.

Alongside the trading statement, the company announced a dividend of 50p per share for the six months to May 28, taking the full-year payout to £1.95, compared with £1.20 in the previous financial year.

The company acknowledged that the current quarter’s performance was better than the previous year, but warned that it was “still early days” in the current fiscal year.