The WH Smith Plc (LON: SMWH) share price rose 3.57% after releasing the preliminary results for the financial year ended 31 August 2023. The British retailer reported a substantial 28% increase in Group revenue, reaching £1,793 million, compared to £1,400 million in 2022. The growth reflects its resilience and expansion efforts across regions.
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Total revenue in the Travel UK sector surged by 36%, North America experienced a remarkable 32% increase, and the Rest of the World (ROW) segment recorded an impressive 99% growth in total revenue.
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Headline profit before tax and non-underlying items saw a 96% increase, reaching £143 million, compared to £73 million in 2022. Our Travel segment achieved a total trading profit of £164 million, up from £89 million in the previous year. Headline diluted EPS before non-underlying items surged by 93%, reaching 80.3p.
The retailer is actively expanding our store network, with a new store pipeline of over 110 stores already won and yet to open in the Travel segment. This includes over 60 stores in North America, highlighting the firm’s commitment to growth and market penetration.
The company continues to invest in its growth, with capital expenditure (capex) expected to be approximately £140 million in the current financial year. The firm proposed a final dividend of 20.8p per share, resulting in a full-year dividend of 28.9p.
The new financial year has started strong, with continued momentum across the firm’s Travel markets. In the first 9 weeks to November 4, 2023, total revenue has risen by 13% in Travel UK, 15%* in North America, and 27%* in the ROW.
Carl Cowling, WH Smith’s Group CEO, commented: “This has been another year of significant progress for the Group. Our Travel divisions have all seen strong growth, with Travel UK total revenue up 36%, North America up 32% and ROW up 99%, and I am very pleased with the start to the new financial year. Our global travel business is growing in all our key markets. It is highly scalable with multiple medium and long-term growth opportunities, and we are seeing great results from sharing our expertise and innovation across our different geographies. Our North American business is benefitting from our forensic approach to space management, which has always been a key feature of our UK Travel operations.”
WH Smith share price.
The WH Smith share price rose 3.57% to trade at 1231.5p from Wednesday’s closing price of 1189.0p.
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