WH Smith Plc (SMWH.L) said Thursday, in an Interim Management Statement, that its total group sales for the first 10 weeks of the financial year fell 1% year-over-year, and added that it remains cautious about the consumer environment.
The UK-based retailer operates in two divisions, namely High Street and Travel. High Street like-for-like sales declined 4% year-over-year, while Travel like-for-like sales were down 2%.
WH Smith affirmed that sales were in line with market expectations. The group also said that it continues to focus on rebalancing business mix towards core categories, as well as well placed to benefit from better passenger numbers, despite the current softness in air travel demand.
In August, for the immediately preceding fiscal, the company reported pre-tax profit of GBP 82 million, up from GBP 76 million last year, despite a decline in revenues, driven by gross margin improvement.
The company in the statement noted that through the ongoing rolling share repurchase programme to return up to GBP 35 million, it has bought back around 1.1 million shares at an average price of 503.905 pence till date.
Looking ahead, "Whilst we remain cautious about the consumer environment and anticipate competitive trading in our markets over the key Christmas period, we have planned accordingly," noted the group.
SMWH.L is currently trading down 1.27% at 503.50, on the LSE.
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