FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

  • Turnover up £13.9m to £72.0m

  • Operating profit up £0.8m to £7.4m

  • 25 new Hobby stores opened - 19 in the Americas, bringing the total to 303

  • Interim dividend up 0.225p to 4.725p
 
Six months to
30 November
2003
Six months to
1 December
2002
Turnover
£72.0m
£58.1m
Operating profit
£7.4m
£6.6m
Profit before tax
£7.3m
£6.6m
Basic earnings per share
14.8p
14.0p
Interim dividend per share
4.725p
4.500p

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Overview
I am pleased to report on another period of growth in sales and profits from Games Workshop. The consistent evidence of the strength and health of the Games Workshop Hobby in all of our geographical areas shows through our results.

We have continued to add depth and excitement to the world of Warhammer 40,000 with the Eye of Terror campaign which ran across all of our territories during the summer, and our Warhammer fans are eagerly awaiting the launch of our new Brettonian army. Our third game based upon The Lord of the Rings trilogy was also launched in November. Armed with these and many other great products, our sales teams around the world have continued to develop their markets and to build the Games Workshop Hobby in each territory.

Results
In July we reported on the strong growth which our UK business had experienced during the final quarter of last financial year. This growth has carried through into the first half of the current year.

Our progress has been satisfactory in Continental Europe where we continue to see growth in all of our sales businesses.

We have continued to pursue our strategy of investment in the Americas, where we believe the growth opportunities to be exciting. During the last six months in the Americas we have:

  • Opened 19 new Games Workshop Hobby stores (total now 73)
  • Restructured our sales infrastructure on a regional basis, with sales offices established in Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore and Memphis
  • Established a new warehousing and distribution centre in Memphis

We believe that these investments will provide a strong base from which we can develop and grow the Games Workshop Hobby in the Americas.

The 19 new Hobby stores in the Americas, out of a total of 25 new stores around the world, takes our overall total to 303 stores dedicated solely to the development of the Games Workshop Hobby. During the six months to 30 November 2003 these stores made up 42% of total sales (sales to independent retailers 51%, direct sales 7%).

During the period sterling has strengthened against the dollar by 6% and weakened against the euro by 5%. We have shown below our sales progression by territory in constant currency terms so that readers can better understand the underlying trends.

Dividend
We have increased our interim dividend in line with our profit growth, to 4.725 pence per share. This will be paid on 23 April 2004 to shareholders on the register at 26 March 2004.

Dividend re-investment plan
In 2002 we offered for the first time to our shareholders the opportunity to re-invest their dividends in shares in the Company. We intend to continue to operate this plan in the future.

Prospects
The directors firmly believe the prospects for the business are very good.

T H F Kirby
Chairman and Chief Executive
27 January 2004

TURNOVER BY GEOGRAPHICAL AREA
OF SALES OPERATION IN LOCAL CURRENCY


 Six months to
30 November
2003		 Six months to
1 December
2002
A thin, black line.
Continental Europe €41.0m €35.4m
United Kingdom £22.4m £16.4m
The Americas US$28.6m US$24.7m
Asia Pacific Aus$9.8m Aus$9.3m