Over this period, the share price is up 10.54. “While passenger numbers continue to be significantly impacted in the UK, our North American business, where 85% of passengers are domestic, is beginning to see some encouraging signs of recovery,” he said. WH Smith PLC (SMWH:LSE) set a new 52-week high during today's trading session when it reached 1,724.00. “This captive market where shoppers made impulse purchases as they waited for trains and planes, or scanned a grab and go sandwich on their daily commute, all but evaporated during the pandemic,” said Susannah Streeter, a senior investment and markets analyst at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.ĭespite the collapse in its travel business, Cowling said there were signs of life for this division in the US. Sales were down 32% at its travel business and revenue in this division was down 90% in April at the height of the pandemic’s first wave. Revenue across the company fell 27% to £1bn. “Since March, we have been heavily impacted by the pandemic,” WH Smith chief executive Carl Cowling said in a statement. READ MORE: UK economy rebounded by 15.5% prior to COVID-19 second wave The business took a £21m charge linked to the redundancies and restructuring announced in August. The company fell to a pre-tax loss of £280m ($366m) in the 12 months to the end of August, compared with £135m profit a year earlier. News of the likely store closures came as WH Smith said it had endured a “challenging” year. The retailer said at the time it would cut around 1,500 jobs, equivalent to just over 10% of its workforce. WH Smith began a review of its store estate in August after suffering a large drop in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “While this is not an easy decision to make for our colleagues or the communities we serve, it is vital we retain a strong and cash generative high street portfolio going forward,” the company said. The retailer operates over 500 shops across the UK and closed eight stores last year. WH Smith on Thursday said it expected to not renew the leases on 25 High Street stores across the country over the coming year as part of efforts to cut costs. Newsagent WH Smith ( SMWH.L) has announced plans to close another 25 shops after slumping to a £280m loss. WH Smith begun a review of its stores in August after suffering a huge slump in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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