Little figurines, big investment gains.

Games Workshop, the best performing stock this year on the London market, said its revenues and earnings climbed significantly over the past six months, pushing shares up a further 9 per cent at the open on Friday.

The group, known for its table games based around characters with names like Gutrot Spume and Festus the Leechlord, said in a trading update that preliminary estimates point to sales of £109m in the half-year to November 26, up 53.7 per cent over the same period in the previous year. Operating profits climbed at a more rapid rate to £38m from £13.8m.

Games Workshop, founded over 30 years ago, makes miniature figurine armies that are used in intricate fantasy games, like Warhammer 40,000 and one based on The Hobbit. Players spend time customising their models — such as tanks and various creatures — by painting them and swapping out their bases. (“True mastery” of the art, “takes time and dedication”, the company says.)

The group’s shares have soared 174.4 per cent since the end of last year, making Games Workshop by far the best-performing stock on the FTSE All-Share index, according to FactSet data.

Games Workshop is based in the UK, but 70 per cent of direct sales are generated overseas from countries such as the US, Australia, China and Japan, helping to buffer its exposure to British economic tumult.

Image source: iStock

Copyright The Financial Times Limited . All rights reserved. Please don't copy articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.