Games Workshop (LON: GAW) says trading is ahead of market expectations and it announced a 50p/share dividend. This made the Warhammer company the best performer in the FTSE 250 index. The share price is 11.7% higher at £116.10/share.
First quarter core revenues are 14% ahead at £121m, while licensing revenues doubled to £6m. Pre-tax profit is estimated at £57m, up from £39m.
Management does caution that it is still early in the financial year to May 2024.
The dividend relates to the company distributing surplus cash. The ex-dividend date is 28 September, and it will be paid on 3 November. The 50p/share dividend follows a 145p/share payout declared in July and paid on 11 September. In the previous year, the total dividend was 325p/share.
There was cash of £90.2m at the end of May 2023. The two latest dividends will cost around £65m, depending on whether shareholders take shares instead of cash.
