RETAILER WH Smith unveiled a ten per cent jump in underlying profits for the last half year and announced plans to sell to armchair shoppers on interactive TV.

The move comes nine months after the company snapped up the Oxford-based Internet Bookshop and Oxford online educational publisher Helicon.

WH Smith is teaming up with interactive TV service Open to sell books and other products to home shoppers.

Chief executive Richard Handover said: "Interactive TV will be the route to the mass market, and WH Smith is a mass market retailer."

Customers will be able to buy WH Smith's wares through the Open channel using their TV remote control. Mr Handover said WH Smith would launch with up to 300 product ranges, moving on to 8,000 by early next year with the inclusion of stationery and education items.

The announcement is the latest in a number of hi-tech moves from the group, following the recent launch of its free Internet access service and web site.

Internet sales rocketed ahead in the six months to February 28 to £3m, up 75 per cent on the same period the previous year.

Results for the half year were complicated by a change of its financial year and other influences including a return of cash to shareholders and the sale of several businesses.

Overall pre-tax profits were £105m, down from £128m for the same period the previous year.

But underlying profits from core stores and the wholesale business gained ten per cent to £93m.

The Internet Bookshop is the second largest on-line seller of books in the UK after the North American on-line sales company amazon.com.

Story date: Monday 03 May

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