WHSmith to return £90m to shareholders

WHSmith reported a 2 per cent fall in like-for-like sales over the festive period and is to return£90 million to shareholders.

Like-for-like sales at the bookseller and stationer’s high street division for the 10 and 21 weeks to January 26 were down 3 per cent.

WHSmith group sales for the 26 weeks were up 1 per cent and like-for-likes down 2 per cent.

The travel division fared better, notching up total sales rise of 13 per cent and like-for-likes advanced 1 per cent for the 21 weeks.

The retailer said it intends to make an initial return of£60 million – equivalent to 33p a share – by way of special dividend to shareholders. The balance of£30 million will be returned via an on-market share buy-back programme over the course of the next year.

WHS’s special dividend will require approval by shareholders at an EGM on February 20. If approved, it will be paid on February 29.

Commenting on the announcement, WHSmith group chief executive Kate Swann said: “As we anticipated, trading conditions on the high street were competitive over the Christmas period. In this environment, we continued our strategy to rebalance the mix of our business towards our core categories and increased our gross margins as a result. We are pleased with the continued progress in our travel business and we will continue to focus on growth opportunities in the coming year.

“Looking ahead, we remain cautious about consumer spending in our markets and our plans reflect this. The cash return to shareholders reflects our confidence in the cash generative nature of our business and our commitment to maintain an appropriate capital structure.”