Games Workshop increases payouts to investors after another year of excellent profits

Games Workshop has declared a dividend of 80 pence per share as the retailer continues to see strong trading momentum following an excellent year of profitability.

The latest payment takes the Warhammer creator’s dividend payments to 265 pence per share so far this financial year, compared with 195 pence per share at the same time last year.

The Nottingham-based company, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025, said the payments reflected its policy of distributing “truly surplus cash”.

Games Workshop expects to report at least £295 million in total revenue and pre-tax profits of no less than £120 million for the six months ending December 1.

Its total sales and pre-tax profits for the same period in 2023 were £248.6 million and £13 million respectively.

Analysts at brokerage Peel Hunt said the company had enjoyed “a very busy few weeks”, with sales of Space Marines surpassing 5 million units and animated anthology series Secret Level becoming Amazon’s highest-rated show Prime.

One of the Secret Level episodes was based on the video game Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.

Games Workshop also revealed last week that it had agreed “creative guidelines” with Amazon for adapting Warhammer 40,000 into films and TV shows.

Two years ago, the two firms reached an agreement in principle to make productions based on Games Workshop’s intellectual property.

Twelve months later, Games Workshop gave Amazon the rights to develop projects set within the Warhammer 40,000 universe, as well as the associated merchandise rights.

Additionally, it gave Amazon the option to license equivalent rights in the Warhammer Fantasy universe once initial production of Warhammer 40,000 launches.

Games Workshop’s deal with the retail giant comes as the company prepares to enter the FTSE 100 index for the first time after a run of breakneck growth.

Under the leadership of CEO Kevin Rountree, the company’s annual turnover has more than quadrupled, partly because the Covid-19 pandemic has encouraged more people to take up table games.

It has also benefited from the introduction or revival of more simplified games, such as the American football-inspired Blood Bowl, where teams of fantastical creatures such as elves, orcs and lizardmen compete to score “touchdowns”.

Games Workshop Group Shares They were down 0.15 per cent at 13,530 pence on Wednesday morning, but have added almost 40 per cent since the start of the year and around 2,600 per cent over the last decade.

Peel Hunt said recent strong performance puts Games Workshop shares close to the broker’s price target of 13,500 pence.

He maintained his “buy” rating but said analysts would review at the time of Games Workshop’s interim results “when we have greater clarity” on Christmas trading.