WH Smith reported a slight fall in pretax profit for its fiscal year but increased group revenue, which was boosted by its U.K. travel business.

The books, magazine and snack retailer--which has sites around airports and train stations as well as in the high street--said Thursday that preliminary pretax profit for the year ended Aug. 31 was 106 million pounds ($134.7 million) compared with the 110 million pounds it reported a year prior.

Adjusted pretax profit--a company preferred metric--was up 16% to 166 million pounds for the year. Revenue was 1.92 billion pounds, up 7% on prior-year's figure.

The company said its results were driven by a strong performance in its U.K. travel business, which increased trading profit by 20% to 122 million pounds.

It said the new financial year has started well but noted continuing economic uncertainty.

WH Smith cited the North American market as the most exciting growth opportunity and said it is the preferred bidder for a further 15 stores across two major U.S. airports. Its store opening program is on track with a pipeline of around 60 stores, the company said.

The company has proposed a final dividend of 22.6 pence which gives a full-year dividend of 33.6 pence per share, compared with its full-year dividend of 28.9 pence for fiscal 2023.

Write to Adam Whittaker at [email protected]