WH Smith reported increased profit margins over the Christmas period as the UK book, newpaper and stationery retailer continued its focus on cutting costs in the face of declining sales.

Like-for-like sales at store open for a year or more fell 5% in the 21 week to January 21 at the company’s 560 travel outlets and 600 high street stores.

Kate Swann, the chief executive, said: “We saw a resilient performance in challenging trading conditions. Gross margin was in line with plan and costs were tightly controlled."
 

Swann has cut costs and improved margins by focusing on more profitable products, better sourcing and fewer markdowns. She has rebalanced WH Smith's high street and travel businesses and the firm's mix of products towards core categories and away from entertainment products such as CDs, DVDs, computer games and consoles.