Company
WH Smith PLC
LON:SMWH
WHSmith PLC has 548 high street stores and 433 travel outlets at airport, train station, hospital and motorway service area locations across the UK which sell a wide range of newspapers, magazines, stationery, books and entertainment products.
183 stories · page 1 of 2
Archive
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks finish the week on a high note
London's blue-chips ended the week on the front foot
WH Smith to focus on travel hubs in US and Europe
WH Smith has confirmed no new high street stores will be opened under current plans
WH Smith, M&S among firms fined for not paying minimum wage
Over 200 firms failed to pay around £5mln worth of staff's salaries between 2017 and 2019
WH Smith swings to profit and reinstates dividend
The FTSE 250 company believes it is in "its strongest ever position as a global travel retailer"
WH Smith has 'turbulence ahead' says Deutsche Bank
Ahead of the group’s full-year results, due next month, the German bank's analysts believe the focus will be on current trading trends
Toys R Us makes high street return with concessions in WH Smith
Included in the concessions at WH Smith will be toys and games
WH Smith buoyed by recovery in travel sales
Total revenue as a percentage of 2019 sales was 112%
Archive
WH Smith and Halfords set for Wednesday’s spotlight
Retailers and housebuilders continue to be a focus in the news cycle.
WH Smith results to confirm if it's still enjoying 2022 more than most
Wednesday’s final results could reveal if there has been an impact from the summer of airport chaos imposed by airline cancellations
WH Smith announces pension scheme buy-in deal
The buy-in removes longevity and other demographic risks as well as investment, interest rate and inflation risks, the retailer said
WH Smith expects revenue to be at top end of estimates on travel rebound
Travel continues to perform strongly across all divisions at the company and it expects this to be maintained into the peak summer trading period
Travel resurgence bodes well for Whitbread and WH Smith numbers next week
Revenue in European lodgings was up 22% in the UK for the week of 22 May, according to Citigroup
WH Smith upbeat for remainder of the year despite economic uncertainty as it returns to profit
Performance was boosted by the travel part of the business as Covid restrictions eased
WH Smith's Funky Pigeon site hit by cyber incident
Specialists are investigating "the extent to which any personal data, specifically names, addresses, e-mail addresses and personalised card and gift designs has been accessed"
WH Smith sees small impact from Omicron but expects recovery to continue
“We are well placed for the key trading period in travel this summer and the ongoing recovery in our markets," said chief executive Carl Cowling
WH Smith hopes to return to ‘meaningful’ profit after full-year losses narrow
The retailer expects sales to return to 2019 levels in the current financial year
WH Smith faces turbulence as activist investor builds up chunky stake
US-based Causeway Capital, known for its involvement with Rolls-Royce and Volkswagen, is now the retailer's largest shareholder
WH Smith issues mixed trading update as investors digest good news/bad news combo
Continued doubts ove the return to "normal" levels of travel means the retailer currently anticipates the levels of profitability for the current fiscal year will be at the lower end of market expectations.
WH Smith trading slightly ahead of expectations thanks to North American revival
Passenger numbers remain significantly down versus 2019 but the retailer is seeing a gradual recovery in sales as restrictions are eased
Longer lockdown could pump the brakes on UK recovery, warns BCC
The head of economics at the British Chamber of Commerce, Suren Thiru, said a continuation of restrictions beyond the planned June 21 end date could “materially slow” the country’s economic recovery from the pandemic
Lockdown easing could be delayed by at least two weeks, reports
Reports have emerged that the final stage of easing could be pushed back by as much as a month to allow for all adults over 50 to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19
WH Smith removes references to non-executive director's chair role at Greensill Capital from its website
How embarrassing? Imagine being a director of WH Smith ...
WH Smith knocked down to ‘neutral’ by JP Morgan as return to international travel remains a question mark
Meanwhile, the High Street and online businesses are in rude health, said the bank
WH Smith trims monthly cash burn forecasts after performance tops expectations
High street and online businesses performed well but the travel segment remains under pressure
WH Smith sale of Funky Pigeon could boost pivot to travel business, says broker
Analysts at Peel Hunt estimated that the online greeting cards business could be worth "well in excess of £300mln", enough to wipe out the newsagent's debt pile
WH Smith expects monthly cash burn of up to £20mln if restrictions continue to March
The firm has £340mln of cash and committed facilities available which reassures the market
Builders and building materials
WH Smith gets target price boost by Peel Hunt over post-crisis prospects
“The biggest and swiftest recovery will come, we believe, on the high street"
WH Smith downgraded as broker sees depressed travel footfall for prolonged period
“With Covid-19 global in nature and some likely ongoing consumer concern about travel, we expect passenger footfall to be down for a prolonged period but conversion in store and average spend per passenger up,” the analysts said
WH Smith continues to expand in travel locations but posts massive full-year loss
In the year to August 31, WH Smith slumped to a £280mln loss before tax from £135mln profit a year ago
Goldman Sachs makes WH Smith a 'buy' on expected increase in customer traffic
“Our positive view is based on a gradual improvement in traffic (across air, rail and UK high street) and a constructive long-term view on profitability,” analysts said
WH Smith launches restructuring to cut 1500 jobs
Consultation is now beginning on the proposed restructuring and redundancies, which is expected to cost £15-19mln
Archive
FTSE 100 makes gains at the close, Dow leads Wall Street higher
The index of UK blue-chips added 69 points to 6,105
WH Smith plans gradual re-opening and new Heathrow flagship store
The newsagents’ chain said it is “well positioned” to benefit from other shop closures in travel locations
WH Smith raises £166mln in share placing amid coronavirus disruption
Over 15mln shares were placed to existing and new institutional investors at 1,050p each, a 4% discount to Monday’s closing price
WH Smith to launch share placing representing up to 13.7% of the company's issued capital
The retailer said the share placing is a condition to receive a new £120mln loan
WH Smith warns on profits as coronavirus hammers travel arm
So far, the high street newsagents have not been affected materially but that situation might change if general restrictions on movement are brought in.
WH Smith whacked by coronavirus concerns, analysts eye long-term potential
The virus does not diminish the long-term prospects for the retailer, said analysts at Peel Hunt, while those at JP Morgan Cazenove highlighted the shares as the best way of betting on the “rebirth of the high street”
WH Smith's travel revenue jumps as new acquisitions kick in
Group like-for-like revenue dipped 1% in the 20 weeks to 18 January, with travel up 3% and UK high street down 5%
WH Smith shares “materially undervalued” after second US deal, says broker
The high-street favourite recently doubled its thriving international business with new acquisitions in US, taking the pressure off struggling UK chains
WH Smith doubles down on US travel with Marshall acquisition
The British retailer said it made “a good start” of the current financial year although the high street segment keeps delivering weak results
Archive
FTSE 100 closes up but off earlier highs as Boris's Brexit deal boosts sentiment
The blue-chip benchmark gained 14.37 points on the day to close at 7,182.32, but off the session high of 7,237.78
WH Smith: threadbare carpets but shag-pile profits?
Whether or not investors can find a link between performance and carpet threadbare-ness, the often-hilarious @WHS_Carpet twitter account remains one for the social media watchlist
Strong but slightly fuzzy: WH Smith says year finished well
Profit margins and stores openings were “in line with plan”, with shops adjoining hospital waiting rooms now the retailer's second-largest channel
WH Smith ranked as worst UK retailer in national survey - once again
Consumers described WH Smith stores as “cramped, messy and dirty” with “unhelpful staff”.
WH Smith CEO Clarke to step down in October
The news accompanied the high street retailer's third-quarter trading update which showed total sales up 15% and like-for-like sales growth of 1%
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes higher as trade tensions ease
The UK's premier shares index closed up around ten points at 7,320