Games Workshop declares dividend and upgrades forecast

Games Workshop declared a dividend of 60p a share as the miniature wargames maker upgraded its first-half profit forecast for the third time in three months.

The FTSE 250 company said pretax profit for the six months to the end of November would be at least £90m, up from £59m a year earlier, on revenue up 25% to about £185m.

The company said the 60p a share dividend was in line with its policy of "distributing truly surplus cash". The payout will be made to shareholders on the register on 18 December and will be paid on 25 January.

"We are delighted with the global team performance in the first half given the backdrop of major projects and some government restrictions," Games Workshop said.

Games Workshop published its trading statement a month after a previous update when it increased its estimate for first-half profit to at least £80m. It said then that online and trade sales of its miniature fantasy figures had more than made up for revenue lost because of store closures during the second English coronavirus lockdown.

The owner of the Warhammer universe has been one of the successes of the Covid-19 crisis as its fans have bought figures while cooped up at home. Games Workshop said it planned to publish first-half results on 12 January.