Travel-retail boost for WH Smith

Nicole Mezzasalma

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Booksellers' profits sets to rise thanks to "strong performance" of travel stores

Newspapers and books retailer WH Smith has said that its full-year results will come out at the top end of analysts’ expectations. The company issued a pre-close statement today claiming its high street shops “continue to deliver a solid performance” and hailing the “good progress” and “strong performance” of its travel-retail business.

According to the Financial Times, WH Smith’s profits for the year are expected to increase to as much as £64m ($128m), up from £51m ($102m) last year. This compares positively to previous analysts’ estimates of pre-tax profits of £60m ($120m). Shares in the company opened up 9p or 2.4% at 387.5p today – prices peaked at 460p in May, but have been steadily falling since.

Investment bank Seymour Pierce has upgraded its rating on WH Smith from “hold” to “outperform” following the statement. Analyst Richard Ratner said: “I think the wet weather has helped them on the high street. And the travel business, which has extremely strong competition, has continued to trade well.”

The actual full-year figures for the company will be issued on October 11.