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Book retailer Waterstones has reported a 33% rise in profit before tax for the year ended April 2019, despite “a period absent of significant bestselling titles”.
According to accounts filed with Companies House, the retailer also saw an 18% increase in operating profit amid rise in stationary, food, gifts and coffee sales.
The group also reported a 1.8% increase in sales to £392.8m compared with £385.7m during the same period last year.
Waterstones said sales increased through “non book items” such as stationary, gifts and board games, as well as food and drink sales at its Cafe W locations.
The book retailer now has over 277 bookstores and cafes across the UK and has over 3,000 employees. It also invested around £7m in staff training and “improving” shops during the period, a decrease from £8.8m during the previous year.
