Fantasy board game specialist Games Workshop experienced a slide in pretax profit from £16.1m to £15.4m in the year ending May 29.

Revenue dipped from £126.5m to £123.1m.

Online sales were down on last year, although Games Workshop declined to give figures.

The company, which has both a retail and wholesale arm, described the performance as “satisfactory”.

Games Workshop chief executive Mark Wells said gross margins improved in the period and that good cost control lead to a “healthy cash inflow”.

He added that the performance improved in the second half after a focus on customer service training and investment in new product development.

Wells said: “Games Workshop is in good shape. We know what we need to do to remain successful and to grow.”

The company’s Continental Europe arm performed better this year in constant currency terms. After a slow start to the year, North America and the UK both improved in the second half in constant currency terms.

Games Workshop said it is confident it has a profitable retail model for North America and has started expanding into new cities, including San Antonio, Texas and Bowie, and Maryland.

In January Games Workshop said its first half suffered after the company slashed staff levels at stores in markets including the UK and North America. At the time it said sales fell as reliance on inexperienced employees increased. It reported then that it would have a renewed focus on improving customer service.

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