Tightlipped Games Workshop says trading in line

In one of the shortest trading statements ever, Warhammer maker Games Workshop on Wednesday said trading for the three months to September 1 had been in line with expectations.

No further details were provided in the blunt announcement, and while some companies can go too far the other way, AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said GW shareholders may have felt a little shortchanged and used more than 23 words to say so.

"There is no beating around the bush with Games Workshop’s trading update. The bare to the bone announcement contains a mere 23 words," he said.

“While some investors might welcome the directness of the statement, saying trading is in line with expectations, you do have to wonder why it doesn’t feel compelled to shed some light on individual parts of the business."

“Shareholders own the company and they have a right to know what’s going well, what isn’t, and what to expect going forward. There is certainly an expectation for companies in the prestigious FTSE 250 index to be transparent."

“Games Workshop might argue that three months is too short a period to warrant in-depth analysis or that running the business is more important that telling shareholders what’s going on in a quarterly update. It does suggest that whoever is running the investor relations department must have the easiest job in the world.”

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com