Lord of Rings fall-off impacts Games Workshop profits

Fantasy war games retailer Games Workshop today warned its full year profits would fall short of market expectations after interest in Lord of the Rings - one of its mainstay lines – continued to wane.

The England-based group, which makes model versions of the trilogy, said revenues for the six months to November 27 had fallen from £71m (€103m) to £57.1m (€82.7m) and profits before tax tumbled from £7.6m (€11m) to £119,000 (€172,000) as the “bubble” created by the Lord of the Rings films continued to deflate.

It released interim figures today, earlier than scheduled, because the group said sales for the five weeks to January 1 indicated a further decline of 17% year-on-year.

Games Workshop warned in July that a “bubble-effect” surrounded the trilogy as fans rushed out to buy associated goods soon after the movies’ releases but in 2005, with no new films out, interest in the products declined.