M&S profits top £1 billion

For the 52 weeks to March 29, Marks & Spencer reported pre-tax profit up 20.5 per cent to£1.1 billion. Sales rose 5.1 per cent to£9 billion. In the UK, sales climbed 4.2 per cent. International sales increased 16.8 per cent.

M&S chief executive Sir Stuart Rose said: “We expect market conditions to remain difficult for the foreseeable future and are managing our business accordingly. Tight stock control and management of costs are a priority. M&S is well-positioned to compete in this challenging market.”

M&S did not meet its internal bonus targets set in April 2007 and consequently did not pay a bonus. It did, however, pay£12.8 million to store teams to recognise “their hard work in delivering great service and dealing with significantly increased volumes”.

In the UK, like-for-like sales fell 0.5 per cent, with general merchandise down 0.5 per cent and food down 0.4 per cent. In the fourth quarter, like-for-likes fell 1.7 per cent, with a 3.1 per cent slump in general merchandise.

This June, M&S will test 350 branded products in 19 stores in Tyneside and Teeside. Products will include Marmite, Heinz Tomato Ketchup and household products.

Trading for the first seven weeks of the new financial year has been mixed. Rose said: “April was, as expected, a difficult month, reflecting dramatically different weather patterns compared with the same period last year. May to date has shown a marked improvement although we remain cautious about consumer sentiment.”