Articles by Editor,Jane Denton

Technology

WH Smith delays annual results amid US accounting blunder

WH Smith has delayed the publication of its annual results by more than a month as it battles to get to the bottom of an accounting blunder. The chain is grappling with the fallout of an accounting blunder that saw it overstate profits in its US business by around £30million. WH Smith was due to publish its preliminary results on 12 November, but has now pushed the date back to 16 December, as audit firm Deloitte investigates flaws in its accounting systems. The FTSE 250-listed company previously said the error was due to 'the accelerated recognition of supplier income in the North America division.' It more than halved its expected trading profit in North America, from £55million to £25million, as a result. Shares in WH Smith plunged over 40 per cent when the accounting blunder came to light. WH Smith said on Wednesday: 'The revised date will provide the company time to respond to the Deloitte review and allow the group’s auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, to complete the required audit procedures.' The retailer's stock has fallen by more than two-fifths since the start of the year, taking it below a £1billion market value for the first time in years. The accounting blooper emerged at a time of significant change for the retailer. Earlier this year, the business sealed a deal to offload its high street stores to private equity firm Modella Capital in a £40million deal. The move will see the chain disappear from British high streets, where it has had a presence for more than a century, after Modella said it would rebrand around 480 stores to TG Jones. Modella is erasing WH Smith and replacing it with TGJones branded stores and products. The private equity firm previously said TGJones 'carries the same sense of family and reflects these stores being at the heart of everyone's high street', but does not refer to a 'specific person'. By contrast, WH Smith gets its name from founder Henry Walton Smith, who was a news vendor in London in the eighteenth century alongside his wife Anna. In July, WH Smith also sold its greetings card business, Funky Pigeon, to Card Factor in a £24million deal. WH Smith is now focused solely on shops in global travel locations, such as in airports, train stations and hospitals, which total about 1,300 around the world, with the brand kept across this estate. WH Smith shares were down 1.76 per cent or 12.50p to 697.50p on Wednesday.