WH Smith PLC on Thursday reported strong interim revenue and profit growth, on the back of strong momentum across its global Travel business.

WH Smith is a books and stationary retailer that operates on UK high streets as well as in travel locations such as airports and train stations globally. It is based in London.

The company posted pretax profit of £45 million in the six months that ended February 28, up 32% from £34 million a year before. Revenue in the half-year totalled £859 million, up 41% from £608 million.

Strong momentum across its global Travel business, with a significant recovery in passenger numbers and strong average transaction value growth, was responsible for the revenue rise, WH Smith said.

Chief Executive Carl Cowling said the company expects the Travel business to represent over 70% of group revenue and around 85% of group profit from trading operations by the end of the current financial year.

‘Travel UK, our largest division, has delivered a strong first half performance and has excellent growth prospects. Revenues are 19% ahead of 2019 levels, despite passenger numbers being considerably below 2019 levels. This performance has been driven by our category expansion, focus on average transaction value, the success of InMotion and our travel essentials one-stop-shop format,’ Cowling said.

Total Travel revenue increased 75% year-on-year to £593 million from £338 million. Against 2019, Travel revenue was up 48%.

UK Travel revenue totalled £314 million, up 66% from £189 million. WH Smith said this revenue improvement was driven by a strong recovery in passenger numbers.

In the 7 week period to 15 April, Travel revenue was up 59%, WH Smith said, with all three divisions continuing to perform well.

‘In the UK, we saw a strong performance over Easter, despite passenger numbers still well below 2019 levels. Looking forward, this is likely to be the last time we report against 2019 as it is becoming a progressively less relevant comparison,’ the company said.

The company’s High Street division delivered revenue of £266 million in half, down 1.5% from £270 million a year prior. WH Smith said it has been managing the business ‘tightly’, keeping focused on costs and cash generation.

‘The strategy we have in place in our High Street business remains as relevant today as it has ever been and focuses on delivering robust and sustainable cashflows and profits,’ it said.

Shares in WH Smith lost 2.6% to 1,582.00 pence on Thursday morning in London.

The company declared an interim dividend of 8.1p per share.

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