The Irish arm of WH Smith had a record-breaking year in 2020, with revenues soaring to €35.76 million and pre-tax profits reaching €5.04 million. This financial performance topped pre-Covid 19 figures and marked a major turnaround in the company’s fortunes after the pandemic had caused pre-tax losses in 2021 and 2020.
The majority of WH Smith’s stores are located in airports, which saw 28.1 million passengers travel through Dublin Airport last year – 231 per cent more than in 2021 and 85 per cent of 2019 levels. This significant increase in activity likely contributed to the retailer’s success.
The directors noted that despite some disruption from Covid-19 in the first half of the year, it had been a year of substantial progress due to their key strategy pillars and a “forensic approach to retailing”. Additionally, the company had benefited from Government Covid-19 wage supports of €671,424 in 2020 following €767,387 received in the prior year.
Staff costs totalled €2 million last year, as the number of employees doubled from 56 to 119. Although the firm’s cash funds dropped from €762,763 to €591,195, they ended the year with accumulated profits of €5.3 million after taking account of non-cash depreciation costs of €679,804 and paying corporation tax of €657,266.