The company announced that its profit before tax and adjusting items soared to £360.2 million, a significant improvement from £205.5 million reported in FY23. Likewise, the statutory profit before tax was up to £325.6 million from £208.5 million. This financial growth translated into a rise in basic earnings per share, up to 10.6p from 8.5p in the prior year, and adjusted basic earnings per share increased to 12.7p from 7.8p, reflecting the higher adjusted profit year-on-year, M&S said in a press release

In the clothing and home segment, sales grew by 5.7 per cent with like-for-like (LFL) sales increasing by 5.5 per cent. This growth has been attributed to confident buying and improved style perceptions, particularly highlighted in holiday and denim categories. The company also saw an uptick in customer numbers and experienced growth across both physical stores and digital platforms, with the former outpacing online sales. The adjusted operating margin for this division improved to 12.1 per cent, up from 9.8 per cent the previous year, boosted by an increased full-price sales mix, which now stands at 82 per cent. Online sales witnessed a growth of 4.6 per cent, with the online adjusted operating profit margin improving to 9 per cent from 6.9 per cent.

Marks and Spencer's international sales rose by 3.9 per cent at constant currency, despite a slowdown in partner demand compared to last year's restocking. Nevertheless, the adjusted operating profit for the international division increased by 11.3 per cent to £43.4 million, supported by structural cost reduction savings.

“Our strategy to reshape M&S for growth has delivered strong results in the first half. We have maintained our relentless focus on trusted value, giving our customers exceptional quality product at the best possible price. In Food, we delivered over 500 quality upgrades and invested over £30 million in price, lowering the price of 200 products and locking prices on 150 customer favourites. In clothing and home, we backed lines with authority across core and seasonal product, maintaining our lead on quality and value perception and improving our style credentials, said Stuart Machin, chief executive.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)