Fall fails to worry retail giant

RETAIL chain WH Smith said yesterday that it continued to trade well, despite a 4 per cent decline in like-for-like sales over the 21 weeks to last weekend.
By The Newsroom
Published 28th Jan 2010, 12:58 BST
Updated 28th Jan 2010, 12:58 BST

High street stores posted a fall of 5 per cent in the period, while its portfolio of travel-based outlets revealed a drop of 2 per cent.

This was broadly in line with previous trends as WH Smith reduced its reliance on the highly competitive entertainment market, including CDs and DVDs, and focused more on its core books, stationery and confectionery markets. Chief executive Kate Swann said margins improved in both divisions while she noted that high street like-for-like sales were 1 per cent lower when stripping out entertainment sales.

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She added: "The group delivered a good performance during the period.

"We made further progress in our high street business and our travel business continues to perform well, despite soft passenger numbers at airports.

"Although we remain cautious about consumer spending, we have planned accordingly and are confident in the outcome for the full year."

Investec Securities said it continued to expect pre-tax profits of 86m for the year to August 31, up from 82m last year.

Analyst David Jeary estimated the company grew its share of the book market in the period.