Star Wars-to-Chicken Run toy company Character Group today warned that poor summer weather and slow pre-Christmas sales would make a big dent in its full-year profits.

The group said the "abnormally poor weather" had led to lower than hoped-for sales of summer toys.

In addition, the company has been hit by the cost of writing down and clearing excess stock from its shelves, and by the cost of integrating Character Games into the group.

It said its results for the full year to August 31 were likely to be "substantially worse" than market expectations.

It said its losses in the second half of the year were unlikely to be any better than those in the first.

In its first six months the group reported pre-tax losses of £6 million.

The group said in May its first-half losses were primarily due to poor sales of Star Wars merch-andise.

Worried managers will hope Character Group does not go the same way as Dorling Kindersley, which was forced to sell out to the Pearson group after a disastrous investment in Star Wars books.

Earlier this year the firm had sold just three million of 13 million Star Wars books it had printed.

The fiasco cost Dorling Kindersley chief executive James Middlehurst his job.

On a more upbeat note, Character Group said the costs experienced this year were likely to be "one-offs" and would not be repeated.

It said it was developing products not only for children but also for teenagers and young adults, such as a digital camera which is enjoying considerable success in Japan.

The group said having undertaken a number of measures to reduce costs, it was now in much better shape for the next financial year.