£635m profit pleases M&S
An impressive fourth quarter of sales growth helped the group notch up the underlying pre-tax profits haul, which marked a turnaround on the 40 per cent plunge the previous year.
In presenting his last set of annual results, M&S chairman Sir Stuart Rose said the "worst effects of the recession" were now over, but warned over consumer jitters ahead of the emergency Budget on 22 June.
UK like-for-like sales, which exclude the impact of new store openings, rose 0.9 per cent over the 52 weeks, while food sales were up 0.3 per cent.