Marks & Spencer Shares Jump on Strong H1 Results

Marks & Spencer Group Plc (M&S) reported a strong performance in its first half results for the 26 weeks ended 28 September 2024, sending its shares higher in early Wednesday trading.

The company saw its shares jump around 4.8% at the open, adding to its already solid performance this year.

M&S reported a 17.2% increase in profit before tax and adjusting items, reaching £407.8 million.

Both Food and Clothing & Home divisions contributed to the strong performance. Food sales increased by 8.1%, driven by growth in produce, meat, and dairy, as well as a strong program of innovation.

Clothing & Home sales rose by 4.7%, with Womenswear driving the growth. The company said in its release that it maintained a strong focus on full-price sales and continued to improve its style perception.

While International sales declined by 10.3% due to a challenging market environment, the company revealed it is implementing a reset strategy under new leadership to drive future growth.

Stuart Machin, Chief Executive of M&S, stated: “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.”

Machin also acknowledged the challenges posed by cost inflation and the uncertain consumer environment.

M&S expects the challenging market conditions to persist in the second half of the year. However, the company remains confident in its ability to deliver further progress, driven by its strong product offering and focus on operational excellence.

The company said cost inflation has continued to be elevated during the first half of the year, running well ahead of price inflation, resulting in an uncertain consumer environment.

“Despite this, the business has traded well growing volume and value market share,” they concluded.