WH Smith is betting on new store openings in North America and the ongoing travel recovery in Asia and Europe to lift growth in the coming year, the British airport retailer's boss said today.
Leisure and business travel have rebounded since pandemic restrictions ended, boosting sales at transit locations.
Consumers ready to splurge their savings on travel, are also prepared to pay for paperback novels or treats to make their trips more enjoyable.
The group - which runs stores in airports and train stations, selling everything from books and sandwiches to Bluetooth headphones - has not seen an impact on footfall amid cost-of-living pressures, CEO Carl Cowling said in an interview.
WH Smith also plans to open another 50 stores in the fast-growing North America region over the next 12 months.
For the first nine weeks of the current financial year, the company's revenue in North America was up 15%, while UK sales have grown 13%.
"The Asian travel market is still down quite significantly, and Europe and UK is down too, so there's still a lot of growth from passenger numbers and a broader travel recovery would not fully happen until probably the middle of next year," Cowling said.
The retailer reported a pre-tax profit of £143m for the year ended August 31, compared with analysts' expectations of £142.9m, according to a company-compiled consensus.
"The upswing in footfall at train stations and in airports has brought brisk business, offsetting weakness in the company's more traditional shopping locations," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
