Wh Smith Share Discussion Threads

[philanderer] 06/9/2012 08:54

Nomura reiterating 'buy' and increasing target price from 600p to 690p

[philanderer] 04/9/2012 19:44

Another 8,000 @ 600.2516p purchased for cancellation today.

[philanderer] 04/9/2012 09:15

'BRC: Olympic feelgood factor failed to ignite retail sales'

[philanderer] 03/9/2012 19:41

WH Smith PLC (the "Company") announces that on 3 September 2012 it purchased for cancellation from J.P. Morgan Securities plc 8,000 ordinary shares at an average price of 601.3673 pence per share.

[philanderer] 03/9/2012 11:34

This month's Mills & Boon eBook New Releases are now available! ;-)

[philanderer] 01/9/2012 00:09

20 Best iPhone and iPad apps this week

C4 Paralympics, iTunes Festival, Ladybird: I'm Ready for Phonics, Lift, Kodiak PHP, Shuffler.fm and more

'Richard and Judy Book Club'

This is the work of retailer WH Smith, working with augmented reality firm Aurasma. Tying in with the latest edition of its book club campaign, the app has to be pointed at the cover of any of the featured books – at which point a virtual Richard and Judy pop up to deliver their review.

iPhone / iPad

[philanderer] 31/8/2012 11:34

Back above 600p , be good to get some more volume traded.

[philanderer] 30/8/2012 08:44

Citigroup reiterating 'buy' and increasing tp from 600p to 660p

[philanderer] 24/8/2012 20:14

Still Swanning Around

One of the great regrets of my financial career has been my failure to invest in WH Smith (SMWH) two or three years ago. I am a great admirer of Kate Swann, arguably the most successful female chief executive that this country has seen so far for the way she turned Smith round, but I have long been reluctant to buy High Street shares and I was worried about reports that she was preparing to step down and might be making way for a less talented successor.

In a trading update, WH Smith says both parts of its business have put in a good performance in the year that ends next Friday. The travel side, with outlets at airports and railway stations, has been growing consistently but it is particularly encouraging to see that the High Street branches have also done well.

Admittedly the publishing phenomenon Fifty Shades of Grey and the other two titles in the trilogy have provided a short term boost but Swann is still there, performing the admirable task of increasing profits on lower turnover. She clearly knows what she is doing.

Smith shares were already trading on a 12-month high before the trading update and took a further boost from the excellent news. If, unlike me, you took the chance to get in at lower levels you deserve your rewards.

Stay in there and gloat.

[philanderer] 24/8/2012 11:34

WH Smith's prospects in year ahead look good, says Deutsche

Prospects for High street chain WH Smith (LON:SMWH) in the year ahead look very good, says Deutsche bank, which rates the stock a 'buy' and has upped its price target for the shares by 80 pence to 650 pence.

It comes after what the broker called a "solid" pre-close update from the firm yesterday. It reports results for the year to August 31 in October.

This has led to a 2 per cent increase to Deutsche's pre-tax profit forecast for the full year to £101 million, noted analyst Warwick Okines.

"In our view, August 2013 forecasts of £104 million (was £103mln) are well underpinned and our 10 per cent EPS growth forecast looks conservative," the analyst added.
He said the group had a very clear strategy which was set to continue.

"WH Smith's strategy of growing travel (in UK and International) and defending High Street profits (through cost and space mix management) supplemented by generous dividend and share buybacks, has been very consistent over the years."

Deutsche has rated WH Smith a 'buy' since December 2007.

One key downside risk is if the downturn in passenger travel is prolonged, Okines noted.
Earlier this month, broker Seymour Pierce said the firm was highly cash generative, was being undervalued by the market and it should be a core holding for investors.

It issued a bullish note to its clients, with a 'buy' rating and a 670p price target.
Shares in WH Smith were up 0.08 per cent, to stand at 598 pence.

[philanderer] 24/8/2012 09:22

Investec reiterates 'buy' raises target from 615p to 690p

Deutsche reiterates 'buy' raises target from 570p to 680p

HB Markets reiterates 'buy'

[philanderer] 24/8/2012 09:01

Questor share tip: Update leaves WH Smith looking anything but grey

WH Smith has announced a new buy back and upgraded full-year guidance.

Questor says buy.


WH Smith
597½p +15½
Questor says BUY
WH Smith

Publishing sensation 50 Shades of Grey appears to have provided a boost for WH Smith, but that is not the only reason that full-year results should be at the top end of expectations. This news, revealed in a trading update yesterday, propelled the retailer's shares to a six-year high.

WH Smith is a 220 year-old retailer, with 612 high street stores and 561 outlets in travel locations such as airports, trains stations and motorway services.

Management's diligent focus on costs means that margins have been boosted in both these operations. This followed on from the first upgrade guidance at its high street business for five years, which was announced in June.

Consensus expectations for pre-tax profits had stood at about £99m earlier this week – but should now be increased to £101m. The retailer also announced yet another £50m share buy-back after completing its latest tranche of purchases.


Buy-backs are ways of returning capital to shareholders by reducing the number of shares in issue, which boosts earnings per share (eps). The benefit compared with dividends is that a back-back – theoretically at least – should result in higher share prices as a result of the increase in eps.

Buy-backs can also be preferable for a company's management because they can be undertaken on an ad hoc basis. If cash returns are made through dividends, this could create a problem if it is not sustainable in future years.

WH Smith's management, under chief executive Kate Swann, understands the value of returns to shareholders, with £377m paid via dividends and buy-backs since the 2007 financial year. This is about half the company's current market capitalisation.
The business remains highly cash generative, with the high street operation boosted by sales of physical books, which should reassure investors concerned about the impact of e-books.

Of course, WH Smith has also launched its Kobo e-reader in the UK to compete with the Kindle. We should get an update on how well that is going when the group's full-year results are released on Oct 11.

As for future growth, Questor thinks the market is under-playing the potential of the group's travel business. This offers the real prospect of expansion into new territories where there is a high footfall, which is perfect for WH Smith's relatively low-ticket items.

It's not just new territories either. Travel in Europe has been hit by the debt crisis and this update implies there could have been a slight recovery in travellers – and that they have been buying higher-margin drinks and confectionary.

Investors had a bit of a wobble earlier this year and the shares plunged as low as 471p in June. Questor recommended a buy at 484.6p on June 12 and the shares are now up by more than a quarter in a matter of months.

The yield on the shares remains attractive even after recent gains, at 4.3pc rising to 4.8pc next year.

Trading on a August 2013 earning multiple of 9.1, falling to 8.4, the shares do not look particularly expensive.

However, after such a bullish run the shares could drift between now and the full-year numbers.

They remain a buy.




Indy newspaper:

Market Report: Erotica boom keeps WH Smith sizzling


Investors really must be keen on giant bars of Dairy Milk for £1. The

newspapers-to-stationery seller WH Smith, up 15.5p to 597.5p, got investors excited with a pre-close trading update that revealed it expects to reach profit of £100m for the first time in more than a decade. Shares hit an all-time high yesterday, so its strategy of selling bottles of water and magazines to captive audiences in train stations and airports has paid off.

Widely written off as high-street history, WH Smith under chief executive Kate Swann is back in vogue. It has been boosted by the bestselling erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey, and analysts at Peel Hunt raised their price target to 600p from 525p. Analysts think the price will stay high as the retailer will spend a further £50m to extend its share buy-back programme to 2013.

[philanderer] 23/8/2012 16:48

Kate Calvert, an analyst at Seymour Pierce, said:

The business model is becoming increasing less operationally geared and reliant on Christmas as travel grows (now c.54% of group EBIT). With Travel starting to take off and strong cash generation resulting in the announcement of another £50m share buyback programme today, we believe double digit EPS growth is sustainable.

While Panmure Gordon said:

A very good statement, highly reassuring on all major points, including recent book sales. While the formula of falling like-for-like sales as the product mix shifts, rising gross margins and reduced costs has been enormously shareholder value accretive, it is not sustainable in the long run and we are expecting sales growth to pick up on a 12 month view.

[philanderer] 23/8/2012 16:24

'WH Smith boosted by 'Fifty Shades' novels'

WH Smith announced a new £50m share buyback on Thursday and said full-year results would be at the top end of analysts' expectations, sending its shares to a six-year high.

"WH Smith is making something of a habit of beating forecasts and we have raised our earnings per share forecasts again for the third time this year," Richard Chamberlain, an analyst at BoA Merrill Lynch, said.

The shares rose 25½p to 607½p in afternoon trade.

[philanderer] 23/8/2012 13:55

Thanks c2i.... more luck than judgement as always ;-)

----------------------------

BOA Merrill Lynch retaining 'buy' and increasing tp from 625p to 675p

[contrarian2investor] 23/8/2012 12:05

philanderer, well done and congrats. My turn to be completely mullered today. I have taken a count of 8 but not a knockout blow to my s/b account following that emphatic update. On the first bit of bad/negative data, like Arnie says, "I'll be back".

[philanderer] 23/8/2012 11:33

PA:

Grey sales bright for WH Smith

The phenomenal success of Fifty Shades Of Grey and other copycat "passion" books has given retailer WH Smith a lift.

The erotic novel has sold more than five million copies, making it the best-selling book in Britain since records began, and WH Smith said its 600 high street stores have seen a boost from the trilogy and a raft of similarly racy books that have proved popular in its wake.

The recent strong line-up of books helped WH Smith's high street stores weather the tough retail conditions in the year to August 31.

WH Smith said its results for the year would be at the top end of City expectations and announced it would return a further £50 million to shareholders.

Its near-600 stores in airports, railway stations and motorway service areas also made good progress, helped by opening stores overseas.

Both divisions have increased their profit margins after benefiting from selling more books and stationery and fewer CDs and DVDs under the leadership of its highly regarded chief executive Kate Swann.

WH Smith shares rose 5% to fresh highs on Thursday as investors applauded the bullish update.

The City had previously expected profits within a range of £97 million to £101 million, up from £93 million the previous year.

The group has already returned £377 million to shareholders since mid-2007 as it put in resilient trading performances despite the squeeze on consumer spending, helped by the change in its sales mix.

It has also recently launched its Kobo e-reader to compete with Amazon's Kindle and is expected to give an update on its performance in its full-year results in October.

[philanderer] 23/8/2012 10:54

Broker snap: WH Smith deserves a higher rating

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Investec has put its target price under review for newsagents chain WH Smith following the group's pre-closing trading update on Thursday, saying that the share merit a higher rating.

"WH Smith has indicated another welcome but unexpected profit before tax upgrade, further to our upgrade post the Q3 IMS, to the top-end of current market expectations, namely £101m compared with our £100m forecast," Investec said.

The broker also highlighted the company's £50m share repurchase programme for 2013, "reflecting the ongoing strength of its cash generation".

Investec has reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock, saying its investment case is based on "the combination of profit growth, cash generation (= good yield and further buy-backs) and the growth opportunities in Travel."

The broker has put its forecasts under review.

By 10:12, shares were trading 4.73% higher at 609.5p.

[philanderer] 23/8/2012 09:03

That seems to have done trick :-O plus the buy back..

(Telegraph)

WH Smith has put out a pre-close trading update, reporting an improvement in the sales of books thanks to a recent "positive publishing schedule" which presumably means 50 Shades of Grey.

It says its outlets in stati0ns and airports continue their good performance with store openings on track. The more troubled high street stores are also said to be trading according to plan and overall results are expected to be at the top end of market expectations. "Both businesses remain highly cash generative," the company says.

Meanwhile the terms of its long term incentive plans for management, including chief executive Kate Swann, appear to have been tweaked to exclude recent tax changes when calculating earnings per share figures. The eps targets are now said to be higher than the original targets.

[philanderer] 22/8/2012 14:27

Getting mullered today, especially the last half hour, and could well be a bit leaky before tomorrow`s news release which at present doesn`t look like being a good one.

550p well possible I would have thought.

Lows of the day and 200k traded

[contrarian2investor] 21/8/2012 21:14

Evening philanderer, agreed. If they can't do it with buybacks, Shades of Grey, back to school and Olympic sales then they don't deserve to be up at these lofty levels anyway. Roll on Thurday, here's hoping that it won't be a knock-out nose bleed day for me.

[philanderer] 21/8/2012 20:25

Evening c2i, early days yet.

These markets can turn on a sixpence just as the US has in the last couple of hours.

FTSE futures -48pts at present.

Anything untoward in the SMWH pre-close statement on thursday will not be received well after this recent strong run up in the share price

[contrarian2investor] 21/8/2012 19:09

Well I am now in the red overall (first closed short trade v current running short trade. When I call it wrong I really call it WRONG!