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Important information: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This is a third-party news feed and may not reflect Fidelity’s views.

Smiths News delivers 'good' trading performance in H2

(Sharecast News) - Newspaper and magazine wholesaler Smiths News delivered a "good trading performance" in the second half. Adjusted operating profits for the 52 weeks ended 26 August were expected to be at least in line with market expectations of £38.3m, reflecting year-on-year growth, while overall revenues increased by 0.2%, driven by strong cover price rises and additional sales from the World Cup and one-off news events.

Smiths also said the securing of sustainable operational efficiencies and an improved contribution from adjacent categories had mitigated the impact of inflation.

As a result, Smiths expects to recommend a final full-year dividend of no less than 2.7p per ordinary share, taking the total dividends for the year up to the full distribution permissible under its current banking facilities.

Chief executive Jonathan Bunting said: "In what has been a challenging period for the wider economy, our strategy of securing operational efficiencies, while enhancing core operations and developing adjacent revenues, has been central to mitigating the impacts of inflation."

As of 0935 BST, Smiths shares were up 6.13% at 43.30p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

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