Stationery and books chain WH Smith has said that it is “confident in making further progress” as its profits rose despite a like-for-like sales fall.

In the 20 weeks to January 18th, the group saw total sales fall 4%, with like-for-like sales also down by 4%.

However, chief executive Stephen Clarke insisted that the company had made “another good profit performance” with costs tightly controlled and further improvement in gross margin.

Mr Clarke added: “Looking ahead, we continue to plan cautiously and manage the business tightly while investing in new opportunities for future growth.  We are confident in making further progress in the year.”