GW: “New” Attitude Pays Dividends
Games Workshop is proving that their new focus is really paying off in dividends – literally!
It’s been almost two years since fans of Warhammer everywhere felt a shift in the hobby. But this wasn’t because of a new edition, no, this was because something had changed from the “Top” and it started to roll downhill. That monumental shift was in Games Workshop’s relationship with the players and the community. First, they got on Social Media, then they interacted with fans and TOs. They started listening to their players – hardcore and hobbyist alike.
Happy Little Thin Coats!
They started doing painting videos, cinematic trailers for armies and even started pumping out their own rumors and teasers! Oh and don’t forget the Twitch Streams they run. All of that coalesced into a new Warhammer Community website and back-to-back summer campaigns (one for each of their dominate gaming systems).
Now, it hasn’t all been gold and roses – there have been some hiccups and bumps along the road. Learn experiences are good though as they show there is room from improvement. And all that interaction and receptiveness was great for the fans – but at the end of the day, they are a business and they need to be profitable and make money. So has this new strategy paid off? You could say that.
via Games Workshop Investor Relations
Dividend and Trading Statement
Games Workshop Group PLC announces that the Board has today declared a dividend of 35 pence per share. This will be paid on 27 October 2017 for shareholders on the register at 22 September 2017, with an ex-dividend date of 21 September 2017. The last date for elections for the dividend re-investment plan is 6 October 2017.
Following on from the Group’s update in July, trading for the first quarter of the current financial year has continued strongly. Sales and, given the high operational gearing of the business, profits for 2017/18 to date are therefore well above the same period in the prior year.
A further update will be given as appropriate.
We’ve saw the 2016-17 Annual Report back in July. But this year dividend of 35 pence per share is a pretty solid return. For comparison, in October 2016 they announced a dividend of 25 pence per share for December 2016. Before that it was a 20 pence per share dividend announced in April 2016 which was paid in June of that year. Those are some pretty interesting numbers to follow…
Now, how much of that had to do with the items they released vs what they put out on shelves the previous year? Probably a lot! And correlation is not causation… But, that doesn’t mean their new attitude isn’t helping in both building good will in the players and also helping their bottom line as a company.
Do Your Own Investing Leg Work: Games Workshop Investor Relations Page
So what do you think? Are you a fan of this new and improved Games Workshop? How has their strategy of fan-interaction impacted you or your gaming group?
