Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 8112R

WH Smith PLC

10 November 2011

 



WH Smith PLC

Interim Management Statement

10 November 2011

WH Smith PLC is today publishing its Interim Management Statement as required by the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency rules, relating to the 10 week period from 1 September 2011 to 5 November 2011.

CURRENT TRADING

Total Group sales in the first 10 weeks of the financial year were down 3% with like-for-like sales down 6% compared to the same period last year.

WHSmith Travel total sales were flat and like-for-like sales were down 4%. Gross margin has increased in line with our plan and we continue to identify further opportunities for growth both in the UK and internationally. 

WHSmith High Street total sales were down 5% and like-for-like sales were down 6% in the period. We continue to focus on delivering our strategy to rebalance the mix of our business towards our core categories. We have made further progress on gross margin and costs continue to be tightly managed.

FINANCIAL POSITION

Further to our announcement on 31 August 2011 of our intention to return up to £50m of cash to shareholders via a rolling share buyback programme, we have purchased approximately 0.3 million shares to date at an average price of 485p.

The Group's financial position is in line with market expectations.

PROSPECTS

Whilst the current climate continues to be challenging, we remain a resilient business and are well positioned for continued profitable growth.

-ENDS-

Enquiries:

WH SMITH PLC

Mark Boyle                                                     Investor Relations      020 7851 8820

Nicola Hillman                                                Media Relations        020 7851 8850

Brunswick

Simon Sporborg / Catriona McDermott                                          020 7404 5959

 

END

 

 

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