WH Smith’s high street sales fell 3% in the 21 weeks ending 26 January.

WH Smith announced Thursday it is to return £90 million in cash to its shareholders.

The news comes as the UK retailer, best known for selling books, magazines and stationery, posted a 1% increase in group total sales for the 21 weeks ending 26 January. Like-for-like (LFL) sales were, however, down 2%.

The company said its share return will come in two stages. The first, an initial return of £60 million – equivalent to 33p per share by way of Special Dividend; and the second, £30 million through an on-market share buyback programme.

Financial results for the 21-week period show a 3% decline in LFL high street sales, compared with a 1% boost in LFL sales in the company’s Travel division. Excluding tobacco, sales were up 3%.

Commenting on the announcement, Kate Swann, Group Chief Executive 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 forward, Swann said WH Smith remains cautious about consumer spending, adding: “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.”

For more information on WH Smith, visit www.whsmithplc.co.uk

By Natasha Piscitelli