Games Workshop lifts dividend despite profit fall

21st Sep 2022 07:34

(Sharecast News) - Games Workshop Group shares slumped as the company reported a year-on-year fall in pre-tax profit for the three months to August 28, in line with expectations, as it also increased its dividend.

The maker of Warhammer on Wednesday said core revenue rose to £106m from £98m. Licensing revenue fell to £3m against £5m a year ago and pre-tax profit decreased to £39m from £45m.

"We remain focused on sales growth and cost management," Games Workshop said in a statement.

A 30p-a-share dividend was also declared taking payouts in 2022/23 to £1.20 per share against 65p a share last year.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor said: "Investors have had a rough ride lately with shares down 35% year-to-date and 40% over the last year. It has grappled with a series of price target downgrades from the analyst community this year."

"Games Workshop has been dealing with the pressure from freight costs and currency exchange rates with traders struggling to get excited by its quarterly update which met expectations today. Over the long run this stock has still proven to be a worthwhile holding, with shares up 260% over the last five years even after the 2022 market turmoil, sharply outperforming the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti at Sharecast.com