Fantasy wargames retailer Games Workshop said sales and profits had fallen following the advances made through the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The group, which makes the Warhammer game, had warned of a bubble effect surrounding the blockbuster films, which caused a rush of fans to its stores to buy a tabletop version of the trilogy.

Sales have now returned to more normal levels, although the company conceded in its annual results yesterday that it had underestimated the level of the downturn on figures for the last quarter of its financial year.

Across the year to May 29, Games Workshop said turnover fell to £136.6m, from £151.8m a year earlier, while operating profits of £13.9m compared with £19.9m in 2004.

However, it said it remained in good health and it had no plans for short-term actions to tackle its cost base.