M&S delivers ‘strong’ first half results, building on performance of last year
As M&S continues to invest in the early stages of ‘Reshaping for Growth’, the business has delivered improved sales and volume, profit and market share in both Food and Clothing & Home
Print7 November 2024
M&S has delivered strong first half results, building on performance of last year, its latest financial results show.
Food showed an 8.1% increase, according to the company’s half year results for the 26 weeks ended 28 September 2024.
M&S highlighted that as it continues to invest in the early stages of ‘Reshaping for Growth’, the business has delivered improved sales and volume, profit and market share in both Food and Clothing & Home.
Commenting on the results Stuart Machin, chief executive, said: “Executing our strategy to ‘Reshape M&S for Growth’ has again delivered an increase in customers, sales value and volume, market share, profit and returns.
“Both Food and Clothing have now delivered market share growth for four consecutive years.
“Central to our strategy is our vision to be the most trusted retailer, with quality products at the heart of everything we do. This is not something we take lightly, and our relentlessness in delivering customers the best quality, innovation, service and value only available at M&S underpins our trading momentum.
“In Food, we have been resolute in our commitment to trusted value. Over 1,000 products are being upgraded and 1,400 new lines are being launched across the year, putting us even further ahead of the pack on quality credentials, and value perception is the highest it’s been in a decade.
“Progress on being a ‘shopping list retailer’ has driven growth in larger baskets.”
Driving future growth
Machin noted that under new leadership, M&S got a grip on its digital and technology infrastructure, as progress to date has been slower than the business would have liked, so it “must accelerate delivery”.
“We are resetting priorities in International to drive future growth, as well as acting now to improve short-term performance,” he said.
“We have fresh impetus in our store rotation plan with the acquisition of ten major new sites in high quality, high growth locations, but we want to go faster so every store is a store we’re proud of.”
Robust financial health
Machin stated that the business remains in robust financial health.
“We have improved our return on capital employed to 15% and further strengthened our balance sheet, he added, “giving us the capacity and flexibility to invest for growth and deliver structural cost reduction, demonstrating our ability to deliver value for shareholders.”
Best Christmas food range
“We have the best Christmas food range I’ve seen in my time at M&S and the most stylish seasonal clothing offer yet, and we know customers are looking forward to celebrating Christmas with M&S,” Machin concluded.
Read more: M&S showcases Monaghan Mushrooms in final phase of Farm to Foodhall campaign
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