WH Smith says profits on course

The retailer, which has more than 1,000 stores across the UK, said its results for the year to 31 August, due to be published in October, will be in line with market expectations. Analysts expect pre-tax profits of about £93 million, compared with £89m last year.

The group yesterday said that both its travel business, which operates from more than 530 outlets at airports, train stations and motorway service areas, and its high street retail arm were continuing to deliver a good performance.

The upbeat assessment comes as large swathes of the retail sector are struggling, with companies including fashion chain Jane Norman, wine merchant Oddbins and interior designer Habitat entering administration.

David Jeary, an analyst at broker Investec, said the update was “clearly reassuring”. He said: “The company does not usually issue a full-year pre-close statement, so this is a clear message in our view that high street and overall trading has not deteriorated.”

WH Smith announced the retirement of its travel division’s managing director, Simon Marinker, after 34 years with the company. He will be replaced by the division’s chief operating officer Simon Smith.

The group’s recent strategy has been to cut out products with low margins, such as CDs and DVDs, and focus on core areas of news, magazines, books and stationery, a move that has impacted sales but boosted profits.