WHSmith continues its strategy to recover profitability.

Ahead of reporting its preliminary FY26 results on 12 November, UK-based global travel retailer WHSmith has maintained its expectation of unaudited headline group profit before tax coming in at £75m ($100.4m*).

This is well below last year’s £108m ($144.6m), a decline blamed on increased promotional activity, reduced brand marketing, inflationary headwinds, and lower trading profit margin.

The profit figure is stable relative to revised company guidance, but materially down despite solid peak trading which lifted Q4 (June-August) revenue by +5% year-on-year (YOY). Across the retailer’s three geographical divisions, the UK had the strongest fourth quarter, up +7%, and up +4% like-for-like(LFL).

The UK airport channel saw six one-stop shops opened in the financial year ahead of the peak trading season, including refurbished flagship stores at London Heathrow (LHR), plus Liverpool, Belfast International, and East Midlands airports. These signal continued investment in higher‑return formats. The company states: “These extend the drive to widen the customer offering and increase basket size in high footfall locations.”

The next largest division of North America saw mixed results in Q4, having faced major challenges since late last year. While total revenue was up +5%, LFL sales showed a contraction of -3%. However, airports delivered a Q4 revenue increase of +13% (-2% LFL), supported by continued investment in the company’s travel essentials format.

Rationalisations continue

The biggest LFL decline came from InMotion at -3%, while the overall airport LFL result “reflects lower YOY passenger volumes in Q4 and softer consumer demand”, says the company. In the resorts channel, revenue in Q4 crashed by –26% YOY due to lower visitor numbers and the speedy rationalisation of the retailer’s fashion estate.

In the Rest-of-the-World division, total revenue was down –4%, with LFL at +3%, but store closures are continuing with an aggressive portfolio restructuring in place and multiple market exits.

During the year, the group departed Norway, has agreed to exit the Danish and Swedish markets in early 2027, and will exit the Netherlands’ Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) on lease expiry in 2027, following a decision not to re-tender the contract. WHSmith says: “This division is being actively managed both to exit unprofitable stores and transition sub-scale markets to a franchise model to improve profitability and cash generation.”

* FX conversion at today’s rate.

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