21/05/2013

M&S Profits Down For 2nd Year

UK retailer Marks & Spencer has seen profits fall for the second year running.

New figures show a fall in pre-tax profits from £658m to £564.3m.

General merchandise fell 4.1% on a like-for-like basis, bringing overall UK sales down by 1%.

Food sales in the UK did go up by 1.7%.

It is understood however that a 4.5% rise in international sales and a 16.6% increase in multi-channel business stopped the overall results from being worse.

The company’s chief executive Marc Bolland said: “In a challenging market, M&S sales grew by 1.3%. Three of the four parts of the business made strong progress.”

“We are working hard to get the General Merchandise performance back on track. We have already made progress in our operational execution, and our new Autumn/Winter ranges have received a positive reaction. We are very pleased with Food performance which benefitted from our continued focus on delivering innovation, and unrivalled quality and provenance. Our International operations performed well in key markets and our Multi-channel business delivered strong growth.”

(MH/CD)


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