Game a Christmas loser in Britain but Spanish sales save the day

Strong sales in Spain salvaged Christmas trading at Game Digital, but weak demand for new games and consoles continued to weigh on its UK business.

Game avoided a repeat of last year’s festive profit warning as an 8.5% rise in Spanish revenue helped to offset an 18.3% plunge in UK sales in the 23 weeks to January 7. Total sales were down 6.3%.

Game said demand for new games was even weaker than expected while a lack of new-generation consoles softened demand for hardware. The shares fell 2p to 58p.

Boss Martyn Gibbs said the UK video games market would remain tough, with lower console sales, but the firm was taking “appropriate actions” to reposition.