Marks & Spencer has been hit by tough summer trading and faced difficulty clawing back market share in clothing.
Overall like-for-like sales in the 26 weeks to September 27 increased 2.4 per cent.
However, growth slowed to only 0.6 per cent in the 11 weeks to September 27.
HSBC analyst Mal Patel said the retailer's clothing sales had struggled against tough comparisons.
'What is most disappointing is that it hasn't managed to claw back market share in clothing,' he said.
In the 11 weeks, which included the roll-out of new autumn stock, total clothing and footwear sales rose by 0.9 per cent.
However, M&S managed to boost full-priced clothing sales by 3 per cent in the quarter.
M&S chief executive Roger Holmes said: 'The continuation of hot weather did not help our clothing performance in September, but overall we have held our market share for the half-year.'
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