WH Smith like-for-likes fall over Christmas although tight cost control helps profits
WH Smith has reported a fall in both its total and like-for-like sales in the 20 weeks to 18 January 2014 but said it had delivered a good profit performance in the period.
Total sales declined by 4% in the 20 weeks with like-for-like sales also dropping by 4%.
In the group’s travel division, which includes shops at airports and railway stations, total sales rose by 2% with like-for-likes sales down 1%. The retailer said the total sales rise reflected a recent improvement in sales trends, particularly at airports.
WH Smith reported that its High Street shops had performed in line with expectations with total sales down 7% and like-for-like sales falling by 6% in the period.
Never Miss a Retail Update!The group said it had seen gross margin improvement in both its travel and high street stores and that costs had been tightly managed.
Stephen Clarke, group chief executive, said: “During the period we have delivered another good profit performance across the group with costs tightly controlled and further improvement in gross margin.
“Looking ahead, we continue to plan cautiously and manage the business tightly while investing in new opportunities for future growth. We are confident in making further progress in the year.”
