GW’s profits are up again as their 2017 Fiscal year closes, and they announce in £5 million in employee bonuses to be split amongst the staff.
Looks like it has It has been nothing less than a successful year for the model makers in Nottingham as Games Workshop has released their trading update for their 2017 sales and total revenue.
GW Profits Up Again
Following the close of its 2017/18 financial year Games Workshop provides the following trading highlights:
Games Workshop is pleased to announce that the sales and profit growth, which was discussed in the trading update released on 4 May 2018, has continued in the period to the end of the financial year. Sales growth has been across all sales channels.
We expect the Group’s sales for the 53 weeks to 3 June 2018 to be approximately £219 million and the Group’s profit before tax to be at not less than £74 million. Royalties receivable from licensing are c. £10 million.
In response to this great growth, the staff is getting a £5 million bonus split equally to all members. This year took a low of hard work from everyone on the staff and they have definitely earned the bonus. a £74 million profit before tax is incredible when you consider all of that was made in a year.
Games Workshop also announces that the Board has today declared a dividend of 30 pence per share. This will be paid on 27 July 2018 to shareholders on the register at 22 June 2018, with an ex-dividend date of 21 June 2018. The last date for elections for the dividend re-investment plan is 6 July 2018.
It looks like GW’s sales continue to only grow. It will be exciting to see what Games Workshop will have on the plate for their 2018 sales year.
If you were curious to see what their mid-year report looked like, as we await their final 2017 report sometime later this summer, we’ve got it right here for you.
Games Workshop Group PLC (“Games Workshop” or the “Group”) announces its half-yearly results for the six months to 26 November 2017.
Kevin Rountree, CEO of Games Workshop, said:
“Our business and our Warhammer Hobby are in great shape.
We are pleased to report record sales and profit levels in the period. It is encouraging that sales and
profit growth continue across all regions and channels. Given the high levels of operational gearing
and our relentless management of our costs, our improving sales performance has translated into
record profit and cash levels.
Our sales for the month of December have also shown good growth trends.”Risks and uncertainties
The board has overall responsibility for ensuring risk is appropriately managed across the Group. As discussed in the 2017 annual report, the top five risks to the Group are reviewed at each board meeting. The risks are rated as to their business impact and their likelihood of occurring. In addition, the Group has a disaster recovery plan to ensure ongoing operations are maintained. The principal risks for the balance of the year are the same as those identified in the 2017 annual report and are
discussed below:ERP change – we are changing our core ERP system in the UK. This is a complicated project with the risk of widespread business disruption if it is not implemented well. Our new Global Head of IT and her team are making steady progress.
Store manager recruitment – this comprises both recruitment of managers for new stores as well as replacing poor performing managers. Retail is our primary method of recruiting new customers and so we need great managers in all our stores. Our new recruiting website and tools are on track to go live in 2018.
Supply chain – our new mail order warehouse system went live in September 2017. This is part of an ongoing programme of continuous improvement for our warehouse systems. We have strengthened the team with a new Global Head of Logistics joining us in January 2018. In relation to factory capacity, given the step change in our performance in the last two years we need to ensure we have the appropriate infrastructure to support the new levels of product volumes in our vertically integrated
business. We are making the necessary and appropriate investments in factory capacity to manage these risks.
Range management – we are reviewing our range to ensure that we are exploring all opportunities. The risk is that we don’t fully exploit all the opportunities that are available to us. We have strengthened the team and a new Global Head of Merchandising will be joining us in February 2018. Distractions – this is anything else that gets in the way of us delivering our goals. Games Workshop relies upon the continued availability and integrity of its IT systems. Our business
critical systems are monitored and disaster recovery plans are in place and reviewed to ensure they remain up to date. The security of our systems is reviewed with software updates applied and equipment updated as required.
We do not consider that we have material solvency or liquidity risks. We also feel that it is too early to tell what the effects will be on Games Workshop of the UK Government invoking Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, notifying the European Council of its intention to withdraw from the European Union.
The greatest risk is the same one that we repeat each year, namely, management. So long as we have great people we will be fine. Problems will arise if the board allows egos and private agendas to rule. I will do my utmost to ensure that this does not happen.
What are your thoughts on the latest half-year financial report? Are you happy to see Games Workshop is still paying out dividends? Let us know in the comments below.
Half year results: 2017-2018
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
