British retailer WH Smith expects to meet its projected outcomes for the full financial year 2025 (FY25) despite a drop in first half (H1) group profit before tax and non-underlying items, which stands at £45m ($59.63m).
The company disclosed a total group revenue of £951m in H1 FY25 – a 3% rise from the £926m reported in the previous fiscal year.
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The growth is attributed primarily to its travel sector, which saw a 6% increase in revenue.
The UK travel segment expanded by 7%, North America by 5% and the Rest of the World category by 15%.
But the company’s high street segment experienced a 7% dip in revenue, with figures reaching £239m in H1 FY25.
Despite this downturn, WH Smith’s overall profit from trading operations edged up to £83m from £81m during the comparable timeframe in FY24.
Profits within the Travel trading division rose to £63m, with contributions of £40m from the UK and £18m from North America.
High street business saw its trading profit decrease to £20m in H1 FY25, from £27m in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The company also reported a diluted loss per share of 33.6p – a sharp contrast to the earnings per share of 13p in H1 FY24.
In March 2025, WH Smith completed an agreement to divest its UK high street branch to Modella Capital for £76m on a cash and debt-free basis.
The move followed January 2025 announcements that the retailer was exploring strategic alternatives for its UK high street business, including potential sale options.
WH Smith group chief executive Carl Cowling stated: “The group has had a good first half with consistent like-for-like growth across all our Travel businesses, and we are well-positioned for the peak summer trading period.
“Our UK Travel business has had a strong half with trading profit 8% ahead of last year. In North America, we are beginning to see the benefits of our work to re-engineer our space and improve our retail offer, with like-for-like revenue growth of 3% in the period. We continue to win new space, and I am delighted to announce that we have recently secured a significant contract at a major East Coast airport.”
The company has confirmed that the second half of FY25 has started positively.
“We are mindful of the increased level of geopolitical and economic uncertainty. However, given the resilient nature of our business, we are well-positioned to benefit from the growth opportunities in global travel retail,” Cowling added.
The company anticipates opening more than 60 stores within FY25. These are among more than 90 new store agreements yet to be realised.
This includes 30 openings from H1 and an expected closure of 50 stores as part of a strategy to enhance space quality by eliminating unprofitable locations, small franchise stores and those affected by landlord redevelopment plans.
Taking account of these closures, WH Smith projects net openings of around ten stores for the year.
