[Meta] GW Earnings Report, FY 2018-2019
It's that time again folks! With the end of July, most companies worldwide are having their summer financial meetings covering the last year's changes, and GW is no exception.
Report is [here](https://s19485.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2018-19-Annual-Report-with-Cover.pdf) (PDF Warning). Last year's report (and my post from last year) can be found [here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/93eznv/meta_gw_earnings_report/)
And of course;
>inb4 but I don't want dumb stonks talk on muh lore sub
GW's profitability and growth as a company gives us a window into how the IP is doing, and how valuable GW's IPs are overall.
>Main Highlights
GW somehow managed to top last year's absolutely bonkers results, posting an overall operating pre-royalties profit of 69.8 million GBP (up from last years 64.7 million). Revenues were up 25 million to 256.5 million GBP, royalties were up a little under 2 million at 11.3 million GBP, and overall profits generated prior to taxes were up 7 million to 81.3 million GBP. GW posted an overall 202.9p per share of earnings (last year 184.3p), with dividends per share paid out at 155p (last year 126p).
Of note, this marks the first year *ever* that GW has surpassed 250 million GBP in revenue.
With respect to business risks, the report identifies pretty mundane ones; retaining quality workers, innovation, sales growth, cost controls, etc. They also note potential risks in being unable to grow because of logistical problems typical with growth companies, like manufacturing bottlenecks. Warehousing and storage in particular are a significant issue, as GW's costs have increase to 9.5 million GBP, or about 3.7% of the companies revenue.
>Other Highlights and tidbits from the report, in no particular order
GW is currently in the market for a non-executive (independent) director, as Chris Myatt (senior director, having been with GW since '96) is stepping down from the board later this year. They still have three *other* independent directors, they just want to maintain having a pool of four.
GW at this point has identified three IPs; AoS, 40k, and HH. While this isn't a change from last year, it's interesting to note that GW kinda-sorta considers HH to be a somewhat separate IP and property to 40k.
The new Nottingham facilities have been completed on time and budget, with the final touches being put on right now and slated to be completed later this year.
The Memphis facility is undergoing expansions that started this year; looks like they're upgrading from 100k to 150k square feet, and investing 5 million GBP in upgrades and tech to the facility, with completion slated for 2020.
GW is reiterating it's commitment towards media and entertainment, particularly in digital content (i.e. animation and TV). *Eisenhorn* and *Angels of Death* are both given brief mentions, but there isn't any new information as to the shows themselves. What *is* interesting is this particular comment;
>We are eager to learn about the new ‘space’, particularly with regards production and distribution. Whilst our short term goal is to understand how the entertainment and media industry works (it appears somewhat complex and expensive), longer term we believe we can closer integrate our media efforts within our business. We are skilled storytellers who understand our IP better than anyone else. To ensure we make the most of that fact, we’ve formed the Warhammer Story Forge, a group of creatives who are both skilled writers and Warhammer experts. Together they have been and will continue to develop outlines, scripts and stories for media projects. Their creativity and passion will ensure we delight fans, deliver amazing Warhammer content to whole new audiences, and protect the integrity of our IP.
So 1) Story Forge has been created to explicitly sync these media projects (both internally and externally) together, and 2) GW is treating this as a bit of "learning" experience, and seem to be treating media and entertainment as the next frontier for the company.
GW is starting a new initiative apparently called "Warhammer Schools Alliance Programme," which appears to be something aimed at teachers of students between 12 and 18, apparently with a STEM focus (presumably because GW realizes that their future depends on bringing more nerdy kids into the fandom). The program currently operates in conjunction with 2300 schools spread across the UK, North America, Australia, and Asia.
With respect to Brexit; Kevin Rountree identifies that the primary issue is the movement of GW products from the UK into the EU, as well as recruitment from EU countries. Of note, North America and the rest of the world are *not* mentioned, signalling that GW seems to think that there will not be any significant issues with respect to trade between the US and the UK, which makes sense given the rumors of a draft trade deal existing.
So yeah. Everything's real freaking neato in Nottingham.