WH Smith carried along by better travel sales; High Street flat

Stationer and newsagent WH Smith said sales from its shops at airports and train stations were up 5% in the 20 weeks to 16 January although High Street sales were flat over the period.

Chief executive Stephen Clarke said full year profit growth to be “slightly ahead of plan” as overall group sales rose 4% and 2% on a like-for-like basis.

Clarke added that overall sales grew 12% in the travel business.

In High Street, like-for-like sales were flat with total sales down 1% over the 20 weeks, driven by like-for-like sales of 2% over the 5 week Christmas period to 2 January 2016.

“We have continued to see good trading across all of our key channels and gross margin continues to grow in line with plan, driven by category mix management. Our UK and international store opening programme is on track,” he said.

"In High Street, we had good like-for-like sales growth over the key Christmas period, driven by the 'colour therapy' phenomenon, our seasonal offer and strong promotions in stationery. In travel, we continue to benefit from the impact of our growth initiatives and the improvement in passenger numbers."