WH Smith’s Share Price Fell 2.89% on the Upbeat 20-Week Update

The WH Smith Plc (LON: SMWH) share price fell 2.89% after announcing its trading update for the 20 weeks to 20 January 2024. The company reported an 8% increase in total group revenues during the period, driven by a significant surge in its UK travel business. 

The company noted that total travel sales during the review period were up 13% compared to last year, while the increase in constant currency was up 16%. The firm’s UK high street division delivered a good performance, which aligned with its expectations as like-for-like store sales were up 1% in December. 

The firm’s UK travel sector recorded a 15% surge in revenues during the 20 weeks compared to a similar period last year. The sales were up 14% on a like-for-like basis. The company is seeing an improvement in passenger numbers across UK Air, a strong performance in Hospitals, and the Rail division is also performing well. 

WH Smith recently opened its largest store in UK Travel – a 6,000 sq ft one-stop-shop for travel essentials at Birmingham airport. The company has received an impressive response from its landlords and customers. 

The company’s North American travel sector showed a 14% increase over the 20 weeks compared to last year on a constant currency basis. The mainstay MRG airport segment, now accounting for around half of its North American division's revenue, continues to show robust performance with notable like-for-like (LFL) growth. 

The firm’s success is attributed to the rising number of passengers and a surge in demand for our range of travel essentials.

Carl Cowling, WH Smith Group’s chief executive, said: “I am pleased with the start of the financial year. Our Travel business is growing strongly across all our divisions, and we have seen a notably strong performance in the UK, our largest division, with total revenue up 15% and like-for-like revenue up 14%. During the period, we successfully opened our largest UK Travel store at Birmingham airport – a one-stop-shop for travel essentials – and we have received very positive feedback from both landlord and customers. We continue to make excellent progress in North America, and I am particularly excited by the substantial growth opportunities that exist in this market.”

WH Smith share price.

The WH Smith share price fell 2.89% to trade at 1192.5p from Thursday’s closing price of 1228.0p.