UK's Games Workshop's HY profit leaps with Warhammer popularity

(Reuters) -British miniature wargames maker Games Workshop on Tuesday reported a 33.4% surge in half-year profit, helped by robust demand for its popular Warhammer series.

The company recently finalised a deal with Amazon to turn the Warhammer 40k universe into films and TV series, a new profit-driving avenue for the company. Former Superman actor Henry Cavill will reportedly star in and produce the untitled series.

"It's fair to say our results were helped by some of the excitement around media and licensing product launches," CEO Kevin Rountree said, as more people visited the company's Warhammer stores, resulting in a 16.4% increase in sales on a constant currency basis.

Games Workshop reported an operating profit of 126.1 million pounds ($154 million) for the six months ended Dec. 1, 2024, versus 94.5 million pounds an year ago.

Shares of the recently inducted FTSE 100 firm fell 2.2% to 129.4 pounds by 0833 GMT. They have gained nearly 2% since joining London's benchmark index on Dec. 23, 2024.

While sales and profits continued to grow, its distribution and stocking capabilities were still recovering after global supply chain issues such as the U.S. port strikes.

The Nottingham-headquartered company also said cost increases after the October 2024 budget might drive third-party input costs in 2025-2026. It will also monitor any impact on its cash generation after confirmations regarding U.S. tariffs under returning U.S. President Donald Trump.

Games Workshop sells its costly and fantastical medieval fantasy-themed wargame miniatures through both direct sales and third-party retail outlets, with approximately 70% of its sales generated from international operations beyond Britain.

($1 = 0.8181 pounds)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Louise Heavens)