Wh Smith PlcLSE: SMWH

Interim Results Presentation 2026

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‌DISCLAIMER

This document contains forward-looking statements with respect to the operations, performance and financial condition of WH Smith PLC. By their nature, these statements are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied because they relate to future events.

Unless otherwise required by applicable law, regulation or accounting standard, we do not undertake to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Nothing in this presentation should be construed as a profit forecast.

The financial information referenced in this presentation does not contain sufficient detail to allow a full understanding of the results of WH Smith PLC. For more detailed information, please see the interim results announcement for the six months ended 28 February 2026 which can be found on the Investors section of the WH Smith PLC website - https://www.whsmithplc.co.uk

1



‌2025/26 INTERIM RESULTS

THE WORLD'S ESSENTIAL TRAVEL RETAILER





‌Leo Quinn, Executive Chair

‌Initial observations
  • Steady the ship
  • Cost and cash - strengthen the balance sheet
  • Green shoots

    • Long-term Air contracts in place

    • One-stop-shop format success

    • Passionate and committed store colleagues

Strong and trusted brand, Compelling business model, Valued traveller proposition



‌FINANCIAL REVIEW

Max Izzard, Group CFO

‌H1 25/26 Financial Performance Headlines

Continuing Operations1

Group Headline Trading Profit2,3

£32m

Group Revenue

£748m

Total revenue growth 5%

Like-for-like revenue growth across all divisions

Headline EBITDA2

£48m

Group Headline Profit before tax2

£3m

Group Headline Profit before tax and non-underlying items £3m

Headline net debt4

£496m

Headline Diluted EPS2

(0.8p)

Net Debt £496m and leverage 2.9x

Rebalance of capital allocation: dividend suspended. Focus on debt reduction

  1. The performance of High Street and Funky Pigeon has been classified as a discontinued operation and is excluded from our headline performance metrics



  2. Excludes non-underlying items, Pre-IFRS 16

  3. Stated before non-underlying items, unallocated costs, finance costs and taxation

  4. Pre-IFRS, excluding lease liabilities

‌Group Revenue Summary

Continuing Operations1

REVENUE BY DIVISION

H1 26 LFL GROWTH IN ALL DIVISIONS2

H1 26

Space Growth FX Impact

LFL

H1 25

+2%

716

14

+2%

+1%

11

7

748

£32m

+5%

Year on year growth

H1 26

£m

H1 25

£m

Total

%

CER2

%

LFL2

%

7 weeks to

18 April LFL2

%

UK

392

384

2

2

2

0

North America

204

194

5

10

1

2

Rest of the World and Other3

152

138

10

8

6

5

Group

748

716

5

5

2

2





  1. The performance of High Street and Funky Pigeon has been classified as a discontinued operation and is excluded from headline performance metrics

  2. Constant currency

  3. Includes Cult Pens

‌Revenue by Segment and Channel

Continuing Operations1

STRONG AIR GROWTH IN H1 26

AIR SEGMENT>70% OF TOTAL REVENUE UK CHANNEL >50% OF TOTAL REVENUE

Segment

Division

Resorts

5%

9%

Rail

Hospitals

ROW

20%

13%

53%

73%

27%

UK

NA

Air

Year on year growth

Total

%

CER2

%

LFL2

%

7 weeks to

18 April LFL2

%

Air

1

1

2

(3)

Hospitals

8

8

4

3

Rail

1

1

(2)

(1)

UK

2

2

2

0

Air

9

15

3

5

Resorts

(11)

(6)

(6)

(8)

North America

5

10

1

2

Rest of the World and Other3

10

8

6

5

Group

5

5

2

2



  1. The performance of High Street and Funky Pigeon has been classified as a discontinued operation and is excluded from headline performance metrics

  2. Constant currency

  3. Includes Cult Pens

‌Group Headline Income Statement2

Continuing Operations1

(Restated)

H1 26

£m

H1 25

£m

UK 2

34

40

North America 2

2

5

Rest of the World and Other 2

(4)

2

Headline Group trading profit2

32

47

Unallocated central costs

(15)

(14)

Headline Group operating profit 2,3

17

33

Headline net finance costs

(14)

(12)

Headline Group profit before tax 2,3

3

21



  1. The performance of High Street and Funky Pigeon has been classified as a discontinued operation and is excluded from headline performance metrics

  2. All results are stated before the impact of IFRS 16 - See Appendix for more details

  3. Excludes non-underlying operating items of £28m (HY25: £20m)

  • Operational efficiency programmes in the UK, North America and ROW divisions to offset the impact of inflation and strengthen teams

North America remediation

  • Progressing well with a focus on strengthening governance and controls, processes and ways of working, and cultural change

Transformation

  • IT transformation focused on improvement of system capability and infrastructure including finance and supply chain

FOCUS AREAS FOR FY26

‌Non-Underlying Costs Summary2

Continuing Operations1

H1 262

£m

IT transformation

4

Operational efficiencies

2

Transformation

6

North America remediation and regulatory related costs

3

Impairment of non-current assets and provisions for onerous contracts

15

Amortisation of acquired intangibles

1

Other costs

3

Other

4

Non-underlying items included in headline operating profit

28



  1. The performance of High Street and Funky Pigeon has been classified as a discontinued operation and is excluded from headline performance metrics

  2. Pre-IFRS 16

‌Free Cash Flow and Headline Net Debt

Continuing Operations1

FREE CASH FLOW

HEADLINE NET DEBT

2.9x

Leverage

2.1x

Net debt at 28 Feb 26

- Disc Ops

- Cont. Ops

Other

Free Cash Flow Dividends paid Non-underlying Non-underlying

Net debt at 31 Aug 25

0

(390)

(496)

(61)

(8)

(22)

(5)

(10)

(106)

27%

(Restated)

H1 26

£m

H1 25

£m

Headline Group operating profit2

17

33

Depreciation, amortisation and impairment2

27

25

Non-cash items

4

4

Headline EBITDA

48

62

Capital expenditure

(50)

(38)

Working capital

(54)

(72)

Net tax refunded/(paid)

5

(17)

Net finance costs paid

(10)

(7)

Free cash flow

(61)

(72)





  1. The performance of High Street and Funky Pigeon has been classified as a discontinued operation and is excluded from Headline performance metrics

  2. Pre IFRS 16 and non-underlying items

  3. Free cash flow conversion = Free cash flow divided by headline EBITDA

‌Capital Expenditure: active focus on better quality space with strong returns

Continuing Operations

CAPEX INVESTMENT IN FY26

STORE NUMBERS CHANGE VS FY25

~90

5-6%

~40

4-5%

50

7%

Total Spend

% of sales

FY26

H2 26

H1 26

20%

25%

15%

Invest to Maintain2

80%

75%

85%

Invest to Grow1

£M

H1 26

UK

NA

ROW

Total

Openings

7

18

11

36

Closures

(11)

(18)

(12)

(41)

Net

(4)

-

(1)

(5)

Closures:

Landlord Redevelopment

(5)

(1)

(1)

(7)

Relocations/loss makers

(6)

(5)

-

(11)

Lease Expiries

-

(12)

(11)

(23)

Total Closures

(11)

(18)

(12)

(41)



  1. Invest to grow - new stores and store development

  2. Invest to Maintain - Maintenance and refurbishment



‌Rebalance of Capital Allocation

Strengthen the Balance Sheet

Focus on cash generation and debt reduction

Diversified debt structure delivered with extended maturity profile

Invest to Grow and Protect Value

Investing in Business Development with returns at or above hurdle rates

Protect business assets -Store maintenance and Transformation projects

Shareholder Returns

Rebalance of capital allocation

Dividend suspended

Reduce Leverage1

<2.0x

FY26 Capex c.£90m

Reinstatement to be reviewed when surplus cash available



  1. Leverage is calculated as Headline net debt divided by Headline EBITDA and non-cash items



‌DIVISIONAL UPDATE: UK

‌Air

▪

Total revenue up 1%; LFL revenue up 2%, reflecting expected trading disruption from store development programme in H1

▪

Strong execution of one-stop-shop strategy

▪

6 one-stop-shops opened, including at Heathrow, Liverpool, Belfast and East Midlands airports

▪

3 flagship stores opened across Heathrow Terminals 3, 4 and 5 in March and early April

▪

Further extended growth categories of health and beauty and food-to-go







Investing for future growth



‌Store Development Programme: Heathrow Airport Terminals 3 and 5





Development of our Smith's Family Kitchen coffee proposition

▪

Continued growth of our multi-format approach

▪

Total revenue in Hospitals up 8%; LFL revenue up 4%

▪

A CONTINUED OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH



  • Strong new store pipeline

  • Continued opportunities for growth across the UK Hospital estate

PIPELINE FOR GROWTH

Smith's Family Kitchen brand supporting coffee and

breakfast offer

▪

Opened one-stop-shop format at London Bridge station

▪

Further development of one-stop-shop format

▪

Total revenue in Rail up 1%; LFL revenue down 2%

▪

FORMAT EVOLUTION CONTINUES

LONDON BRIDGE STATION



  • Continued growth in

    health and beauty

  • Enhanced food-to-go offer with largest ever meal deal range

  • Opportunity to expand additional ranges

CATEGORY DEVELOPMENT

  • Multi-format offering for NHS landlords:

    • WHSmith

    • M&S Food

    • Costa Coffee

    • Smith's Family

Kitchen

FORMAT DEVELOPMENT

‌Hospitals Rail



‌NORTH AMERICA

‌Travel Essentials

Prioritising our most profitable space through Travel Essentials

Opening new Travel Essentials stores with strong returns

DUKE CITY STATION, ALBUQUERQUE AIRPORT



  • Travel Essentials total revenue growth of 22%1 and LFL revenue growth of 6%

  • Travel Essentials represents >50% of mix

  • Strong growth and profit margins

  • Pipeline and future tender participation focused on greater Travel Essentials mix and strong returns

  • Opened January 2026

  • Marketplace format

  • Offers customers maximum convenience

  • Expected payback <20

months

Travel Essentials store count

5-15

165-175

150

10

FY25 HY26 Net openings FY26

  • Opened February 2026

    EAST BANK MARKET, PORTLAND AIRPORT



  • Shop-in-shop format

  • Performance ahead of expectations

  • Expected payback <20 months



1. Constant currency

‌InMotion

Focus on strengthening the retail proposition

InMotion store portfolio

120

123

9

6

Key part of consumer offer; highly regarded by landlords

Focus on improving the store operational performance

Net store numbers reduced by 3 year to date; store numbers to continue to reduce over time

Store portfolio review ongoing; expected to complete in

H2

▪

▪

▪

▪

KEY PART OF CONSUMER OFFER

Opening position

Openings Closures

H1 26

Closed 9 stores as we focus on actively managing the store portfolio and profitable growth

▪

Opened 6 new InMotion stores across Dallas Fort Worth,

Denver, Detroit and Albuquerque airports, primarily as part of wider retail packages in these airports; these stores are performing in line with expectations

▪

AIRPORT STORE OPENINGS AND CLOSURES





‌Resorts

Actively managing the store portfolio to simplify the business

5

Resort store portfolio in H1

79

3

87

  • Speciality:

    • All stores under review

    • 5 stores closed in the period, reformat or controlled exit to be managed over time

  • Hotel and WTLV:

o Focused on strengthening performance and/or terms

HOTEL CONVENIENCE

AND WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS STORES

Opening position Speciality Closures Fashion Closures

  • Fashion:

    • Store count reduced to 22 stores

    • Closure programme ongoing; good progress to date

    • Profit and cash benefits for the future

GOOD PROGRESS WITH STRATEGIC REVIEW OF LOSS-MAKING FASHION STORES

Resort Fashion store closure programme

H1 26

Opening

position

H1 Closed H2 Planned

closure

Re- format Strategic

review

0

25

10

4

8

3

Close





‌REST OF THE WORLD

‌NA slides.pptx

Rest of the World and Other1

Strengthening the foundations in core markets and delivering enhanced profitability

RETAIN AND STRENGTHEN KEY MARKETS

ACTIVELY MANAGING STORE PORTFOLIO

DEVELOPING LESS CAPITAL INTENSIVE FRANCHISE OFFER

  • Agreed new one-stop-shop format investments in Republic of Ireland, including Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports

  • Focus on opening directly-run stores

    in existing markets including:

    • 1 store at Melbourne airport

    • 2 stores at Tenerife airport

  • Improve EBIT margins over medium-term and delivering stronger returns

  • Closed 4 uneconomic stores at Düsseldorf Airport at lease end



  • Exited uneconomic business in Norway

  • Exploring potential withdrawal from further uneconomic markets

  • Assessing move to franchise model

    from directly-run stores

  • Franchise store opened in the Philippines



  • 2 new franchise stores opened in Saudi Arabia

  • 5 new stores opened in Malaysia



1. Includes Cult Pens



‌SUMMARY

‌FY26: Guidance update

c.7%

NA

c.13-14%

UK

Headline Trading Profit Margin %

c.2-4%

ROW

c.6-8%

NA

c.1-3%

UK

Revenue

Growth

Continuing Operations1,2

Group Headline Profit before tax and non-underlying items





£90-105m

£30-32m

£33-35m

Central costs Finance costs

c.4%

ROW

  1. All results are stated before the impact of IFRS 16

  2. Excludes non-underlying operating items



    ‌Summary

    • Solid first half trading performance

    • Good progress against the key priorities set out in December across all divisions

    • Significant store development programme in UK Air complete ahead of peak summer trading

    • More to do in North America; Travel Essentials business performing well

    • Rest of the World; focus on profitable and cash generative business

    • Rebalance capital allocation to prioritise cash and debt reduction

    • Continuing global economic uncertainty resulting in a cautious outlook for the balance of year



‌QUESTIONS



‌APPENDIX

‌Technical Planning Assumptions - FY26 (pre IFRS16 basis)

Continuing Operations

Central costs

£30-£32m

Interest charges

£33-£35m

Effective tax rate

c.25%

Non-underlying

c.£50m

Capex

c.£90m

Headline net debt

c.£420m



‌IFRS 16 Impact on Income Statement

Continuing Operations2

Headline pre-

IFRS 16

H1 26 £m

IFRS 16

adjustments

H1 26 £m

IFRS 16

H1 26 £m

UK 1

34

4

38

North America 1

2

7

9

Rest of the World and Other 1

(4)

(1)

(5)

Group trading profit 1

32

10

42

Unallocated central costs

(15)

-

(15)

Group operating profit before non-underlying items

17

10

27

Net finance costs

(14)

(11)

(25)

Group profit before tax before non-underlying items

3

(1)

2



  1. Stated after directly attributable share-based payment and pension service charges, and before non-underlying items, unallocated costs, finance costs and taxation

  2. The performance of High Street and Funky Pigeon has been classified as a discontinued operation and is excluded from results stated above

‌IFRS 16 Impact on Cash flow Statement

Headline pre-

IFRS 16

IFRS 16

adjustments

IFRS 16

H1 26 £m

H1 26 £m

H1 26 £m

Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities

(43)

39

(4)

Net cash outflow from investing activities

(47)

-

(47)

Net cash inflow/(outflow) from financing activities

67

(39)

(28)

Net decrease in cash in the period - total operations

(23)

-

(23)





‌IFRS 16 Impact on Balance sheet

Headline pre-

IFRS 16

IFRS 16

adjustments

IFRS 16

H1 26 £m

H1 26 £m

H1 26 £m

Goodwill and other intangible assets

446

(1)

445

Property, plant and equipment

265

2

267

Right-of-use assets

-

393

393

Investments

4

-

4

Non-current assets

715

394

1,109

Inventories

140

-

140

Payables less receivables

(103)

(6)

(109)

Net working capital

37

(6)

31

Net debt

(496)

(514)

(1,010)

Other assets and liabilities

7

24

31

Net assets

263

(102)

161

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