Bumper sales of the Fifty Shades of Grey series and publishing phenomenon The Girl on the Train helped boost profits at the Irish arm of WH Smith. Accounts filed by WH Smith Ireland Ltd show pre-tax profit rose 20% to €1.8m last year.

Pre-tax losses at the Irish arm of British-owned retail giant, WH Smith increased by 30.8% last year to €165,472 in spite of a sharp increase in revenues.

Chart beauty Kylie Minogue is the top dream date – after landing the year’s best-selling calendar, it was announced today.