Games Workshop (GAW)

[SlickMongoose]

Not the most commonly discussed share on here, as it's a fairly recent entrant to the 350.

Solid trading update today:

https://www.investegate.co.uk/games-wor ... 00059779V/

Following on from the Group's half year report in January, trading to 7 April 2019 has continued well. Compared to the same period in the prior year, sales and profits are ahead. Royalties receivable are also ahead of the prior year following the signing of new licence agreements. The Board's current expectation is that profit before tax for the year ending 2 June 2019 will be c. £80 million.

The Group also announces that the Board has today declared a dividend of 35 pence per share, in line with the Company's policy of distributing truly surplus cash. This will be paid on 31 May 2019 for shareholders on the register at 26 April 2019, with an ex-dividend date of 25 April 2019. The last date for elections for the dividend re-investment plan is 10 May 2019. This dividend will take the total dividend declared and paid during the year ending 2 June 2019 to £1.55 per share.

Expected PBT up 7% over 2018's £74.5m, and total dividends up 23% over 2018's 126p. The total dividend of 155p represents a backwards looking yield of 4.2% based on today's closing price.

The declared dividend of 35p is the 5th(!) dividend this year.

[SlickMongoose]

https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/ti ... -wizardry/

Games Workshop manufactures and sells miniature models of fantasy soldiers and mythical creatures, which its avid fans paint and use to stage mock battles and play rule-based fantasy games. It’s a niche market in which Games Workshop is the global leader and recent years have shown just how profitable it is to be the overlord of these fantasy realms. The group’s most recent half-year results reported a gross margin of 67 per cent and an operating margin close to 33 per cent.

........

Games Workshop’s rapid growth and strong competitive moat have led to a premium valuation – 21 times forecast earnings. With the company investing to strengthen its competitive position, and given the opportunities to grow through innovation, fan engagement and expansion in less mature overseas markets, we view this as a price worth paying. Buy.

[Alaric]

Games Workshop manufactures and sells miniature models of fantasy soldiers and mythical creatures, which its avid fans paint and use to stage mock battles and play rule-based fantasy games.

It's retail as well, with a presence on or near many High Streets. You do sometimes get the impression when passing that the shops can also act as a local club house for enthusiasts of fantasy games.

[staffordian]

You do sometimes get the impression when passing that the shops can also act as a local club house for enthusiasts of fantasy games.

I get the strong impression that this is key to their success since it fosters the enthusiasm of the gamers for their products. And I think most (all?) of their staff are keen gamers too which must help their sales. There's little worse than a disinterested sales person.

[SlickMongoose]

You do sometimes get the impression when passing that the shops can also act as a local club house for enthusiasts of fantasy games.

I get the strong impression that this is key to their success since it fosters the enthusiasm of the gamers for their products. And I think most (all?) of their staff are keen gamers too which must help their sales. There's little worse than a disinterested sales person.

Yes, agreed. The staff tend to be the biggest geeks going (when I was a kid I wanted to work in one of their stores as well), and since they moved to smaller 1-man stores a few years ago they're not a particularly big overhead either. I don't tend to think of them as retail, it's more to support the hobby.

[jackdaww]

i look in shops to get a feeling for the business.

expecting them to be busy , its puzzling to see GAW and ramsdens for example being very quiet.

game digital shops are usually busy - to no avail.

greggs are very busy - another of my best picks.

i was impressed by GAW staff , and profit margins , there are people paying outrageous prices for plastic models and some more again for the paint.

[Stan]

i look in shops to get a feeling for the business.

expecting them to be busy , its puzzling to see GAW and ramsdens for example being very quiet.

game digital shops are usually busy - to no avail.

greggs are very busy - another of my best picks.

i was impressed by GAW staff , and profit margins , there are people paying outrageous prices for plastic models and some more again for the paint.

Agreed I had the same experience as you so concur with your conclusions.

[SlickMongoose]

https://www.investegate.co.uk/games-wor ... 00034497B/

Following the close of its 2018/19 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 12 April 2019, 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 year to 2 June 2019 to be approximately £254 million and the Group's profit before tax to be not less than £80 million. Royalties receivable from licensing are approximately £11 million. As in the prior year, in recognition of our staff's contribution to these results, we paid during the year profit share bonuses amounting in total to £5 million. These were paid on an equal basis to each member of staff.

i look in shops to get a feeling for the business.

expecting them to be busy , its puzzling to see GAW and ramsdens for example being very quiet.

They're not really a retailer. The stores are to promote the hobby.

[TheMotorcycleBoy]

I bought 2 tranches of these in the last dip, both for less than 2950p per share. So very pleased to see these results:

https://www.investegate.co.uk/games-wor ... 00231564H/

They are a superb company, IMO.

[jackdaww]

I bought 2 tranches of these in the last dip, both for less than 2950p per share. So very pleased to see these results:

https://www.investegate.co.uk/games-wor ... 00231564H/

They are a superb company, IMO.

=============================

i am still adding , at the current price.

[TheMotorcycleBoy]

I bought 2 tranches of these in the last dip, both for less than 2950p per share. So very pleased to see these results:

https://www.investegate.co.uk/games-wor ... 00231564H/

They are a superb company, IMO.

=============================

i am still adding , at the current price.

That's commitment! I hoping for a November brexit induced fall and ready to spend then.

Mind you those results were very great plus they have lots of growth potential e.g.

https://spikeybits.com/2019/01/gw-annou ... he-us.html
https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/not ... rk-2431341

[Stan]

I’m waiting for a pull back from these to get on board personally.

[gryffron]

There are 3 similar hobby shops in my town. 1 operated by GAW and 2 independents. But these "independent" competitors still sell GAW figures and paints. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Gryff

[TheMotorcycleBoy]

I’m waiting for a pull back from these to get on board personally.

Oh aye. They fell to just over £42 a few days back.

[Stan]

I’m waiting for a pull back from these to get on board personally.

Oh aye. They fell to just over £42 a few days back.

Yes I missed that.

[jackdaww]

a big jump up today, SP 5100.

resulting from an unscheduled update indicating they are on track .

i hold quite a lot .

is this another - seems too good to be true - a la burford ?

[TheMotorcycleBoy]

is this another - seems too good to be true - a la burford ?

Nah. They are completely different. They have a real and growing business and they turn sales into cash.

[seagles]

a big jump up today, SP 5100.

resulting from an unscheduled update indicating they are on track .

i hold quite a lot .

is this another - seems too good to be true - a la burford ?

Would be a good idea that if you post "news" you actually post a link. It helps understand what you are referring too.

[SlickMongoose]

Revenue up 12% and pbt up 35% - fantastic update, and not even that expensive on a p/e basis at around 20.

is this another - seems too good to be true - a la burford ?

Unlike Burford, their cash matches their profit, and they return it to shareholders.

[ayshfm1]

Well unless they have some hidden bank accounts like PV.

I don't hold, mostly because I can't understand the mindset of customers, but then I've been called enough names over the years to realise I'm not normal either, so I'm a weirdo and they are just a different sort of weirdo, are there enough of them and where do these weirdo's get their money from?

Anyway so far my loss

Lesson from PV how much does each store make (divide profit by number) if it looks mad, it might well not be true, figuring how why is the trick and since auditors haven't been terribly good at that, what chance does joe ordinary stand.