WH Smith sees high-street sales slide

L Overall revenue flat as growth of dominant travel arm loses speed

to open in Singapore’s Changi Airport by the end of spring. Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said few companies “evoke an image of the old economy more than a newsagents that was founded in 1792”, with the firm launched by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna. “However, WH Smith has neatly side-stepped the declining fortunes of the high street by opening up shops in motorway services, train stations and airports.”

He added that evidence of such a shift is that last year the firm’s travel outlets brought in greater revenues than highstreet stores for the first time in WH Smith’s history.

Its strategy has paid off, he continued. “The share price has doubled over the last five years despite the travails of the wider retail sector. The number of travellers passing through the UK’S airports has helped, and looking forward, air passenger data is probably more pertinent to WH Smith’s prospects than highstreet footfall.

“Without any new book crazes taking hold in Christmas 2017,saleswerealwaysgoingto be on the back foot compared to last year, and so a flat performance is actually a reasonable outcome for WH Smith.”

Shares in WH Smith closed down 0.3 per cent at 2,126p.