Lego hopes for better year after first sales and profits fall since 2004

The group hopes to stabilise trading in 2018 after annual pre-tax profits tumbled 18% to 10.2 billion Danish krone (£1.2 billion).

Lego has posted its first fall in annual sales and profits since 2004, despite a second half boost from sales of Lego Star Wars products (Hamleys/PA)

By Holly Williams, Press Association Deputy City Editor

Danish toymaker Lego has posted its first fall in annual earnings and sales since 2004 after seeing profits tumble 18% in a “challenging” past year.

The group admitted it had put in a disappointing performance as it reported pre-tax profits of 10.2 billion Danish krone (£1.2 billion) against 12.4 billion Danish krone (£1.5 billion) the previous year.