Annual Report 2020
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
GAMES WORKSHOP GROUP PLC Annual report 2020 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 2020 2019 £m £m Revenue 269.7 256.6 Revenue at constant currency* 268.3 256.6 Operating profit - pre-royalties receivable 73.2 69.9 Royalties receivable 16.8 11.3 Operating profit 90.0 81.2 Operating profit at constant currency* 89.6 81.2 Profit before taxation 89.4 81.3 Net increase in cash - pre-dividends paid 70.5 50.7 Earnings per share 218.7p 202.9p Dividends per share declared and paid in the year 145p 155p CONTENTS Chairman’s statement 2 Strategic report 3 Directors’ report 16 Corporate governance report 23 Audit and risk committee report 27 Remuneration report 30 Directors’ responsibilities statement 39 Company directors and advisers 40 Independent auditors’ report 41 Consolidated income statement 47 Statements of comprehensive income 47 Balance sheets 48 Consolidated and Company statements of changes in total equity 49 Consolidated and Company cash flow statements 50 Notes to the financial statements 51 Five year summary 76 Financial calendar 76 Notice of annual general meeting 77 *Constant currency revenue and operating profit are calculated by comparing results in the underlying currencies for 2020 and 2019, both converted at the 2019 average exchange rates as set out on page 13. 1 Games Workshop Group PLC CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT What a time we’re living through right now! I hope that everyone reading this annual report – the stakeholders in Games Workshop – are doing as well as can be in this extraordinary period. It is without precedent. At Games Workshop, after a great year to 2 June 2019, our 2019/20 first half performance was strong. That trend continued into early in the calendar year 2020. Then, along came COVID-19. As most, if not all, of you know, we closed down our business in response to the UK Government’s directions on 24 March 2020, the safety and the health of the Games Workshop team, their families and our customers being our principal concern. Notwithstanding this, our digital product sales continued positively, demonstrating our customers’ love for our hobby. In April 2020, in accordance with UK Government and other local guidance, we started to reopen the business. It’s no surprise to me that Games Workshop staff were keen to get back to work. This continues to be work in progress – but I believe that it is positive. We ended the 2019/20 financial year with revenue of £270 million and profit before tax of £89 million. In overall terms and notwithstanding the massive disruption caused by the virus, in my view your Company’s performance in the year to 31 May 2020 was tremendous. Alongside responding to COVID-19, there has been a lot going on at Games Workshop this year. Our revenues have been growing well in our core business and in our developing licensing business. Our project to expand our production facilities in Nottingham is nearing completion. As Kev reports later in this annual report, further capital investment is underway in our UK and North America operations. Our key business risks (set out later in this document in Kev’s strategic review) – which are of course heightened for a fast-growing business – have been made more complicated by COVID-19. We are working hard to address these risks. The continuing strength and loyalty of the Games Workshop team are invaluable here (as elsewhere). We believe that a principled approach to doing business is central to our present and future success. Our culture encourages responsible practices throughout the Company and presents clear principles that drive ethical interactions with our stakeholders. As set out in some detail later in this annual report, we work hard to ensure that this mind set is evident across the business: in the way that we interact with our customers, our suppliers and with each other; in the way that we engage in our communities; and in our respect for the environment. We continue to work on refreshing the composition of the non-executive board of the Company. As I have said before, to find people who ‘fit’ (the right values, skills and behaviours) with Games Workshop is not an easy task, quickly accomplished. We have conducted a further search process since our 2019 AGM, but to date we have made no further appointment; the COVID-19 ‘lockdown’ has certainly hampered our efforts on this front. Nevertheless, our search for an additional non-executive director continues. In my statement last year I said that I expected my successor as non-executive chairman of Games Workshop to be appointed from within this group of talented individuals ‘within the next few years’. This timetable continues: I will stand down from the board of Games Workshop (at the latest) at our 2021 AGM, when the board (excluding me) has decided upon my replacement. No one can predict with confidence the future – and that applies all the more so with the advent of COVID-19. Nevertheless, I have absolute confidence that the Games Workshop team will ensure that this business survives and succeeds. And I have absolute confidence in the loyalty and passion of all of our Warhammer hobbyists who continue to reward us with their custom. Finally, and as in previous years, I have three enjoyable responsibilities to discharge before concluding this statement: - Firstly, to thank our executive directors and the Games Workshop team as a whole for achieving so much in this extraordinary year. The team’s performance has been fantastic. - Secondly, to thank our loyal customers: we will do our best to continue to surprise and delight you with ever better products and services and to continue to include you in the conversation. - Thirdly, to thank you, our shareholders, for your support and your loyalty. I am sorry we will not be meeting in person at this year’s AGM. With thanks, and best wishes. Nick Donaldson Non-executive chairman 27 July 2020 2 Games Workshop Group PLC STRATEGIC REPORT Strategy and objectives Games Workshop is committed to making the Warhammer hobby and our business ever better. Our ambitions remain clear: to make the best fantasy miniatures in the world, to engage and inspire our customers, and to sell our products globally at a profit. We intend to do this forever. Our decisions are focused on long-term success, not short-term gains. Let me go through our strategy part by part: The first element - we make high quality miniatures. We understand that what we make may not appeal to everyone, so to recruit and re- recruit customers we are absolutely focused on making our models the best in the world. In order to continue to do that forever and to deliver a decent return to our owners, we sell them for a price that we believe represents the investment in their quality. The second element is that we make fantasy miniatures based in our endless, imaginary worlds. This gives us control over the imagery and styles we use and ownership of the intellectual property (IP). Aside from our core business, we are constantly looking to grow our royalty income from opportunities to use our IP in other markets. The third element is that we are customer focused. We talk to our customers. We aim to communicate in an open, fun way. Whoever and wherever our customers are, and in whichever way they want to engage with Warhammer, we will do our utmost to support them. The fourth element is the global nature of our business. We seek out our customers all over the world. We believe that our customers carry our Warhammer hobby gene and to help find them we have two key tools: our retail chain and our online content. In retail we continue to apply our tried and tested approach of recruiting customers - in our own stores, by showcasing the Warhammer hobby and offering a fantastic customer experience. Online our offering has never been richer. Through Warhammer-community.com and social media we reach thousands of new people every day, showing them the very best aspects of the Warhammer hobby and inviting them to join our global community of enthusiastic fans. Our retail business is supported by our own online store (it has the full range of our products) and our independent stockist and trade accounts across the world. These independent accounts do a great job supporting our customers in parts of the world where we either have not yet opened one of our stores or where it is not commercially viable for us to have one. Our long-term goal is to have all three channels (retail, trade and online) growing in harmony. We will always have more independent accounts than our own stores. Our strategy is to grow our business through geographic spread, growing all of the three complementary channels. The fifth element is being focused on cash. By delivering a good cash return every year we can continue to innovate, surprise and delight our loyal existing customers and new customers with great product. To be around forever we also need to invest in both long-term capital and short-term maintenance projects every year, pay our staff what they have earned for the value they contribute and deliver surplus cash to our shareholders. Our dedication and focus should ensure we deliver on time and within our agreed cash limits. We measure our long-term success by seeking a high return on investment. In the short term, we measure our success on our ability to grow sales whilst maintaining our core business operating profit margin at current levels. The way we go about implementing this strategy is to recruit the best staff we can by looking for the appropriate attitudes and behaviour each job we do requires and identifying the value that job brings.