Amidst ongoing challenges linked to the recent cyber-attack, Marks and Spencer has announced strong financial results for the year up until March 2025. Sales overall were up 6.1%, with growth in food sales, up 8.7% and clothing and home, up 3.5%. The recent cyber incident is set to have an impact of c.£300m on 2025/26 operating profit, before cost mitigation, insurance and trading actions.
Robyn Duffy senior analyst at RSM UK on today’s annual trading results from Marks and Spencer: “M&S’s strong performance over the past year underlines its continued dominance on UK high streets, with today’s results reflecting real momentum across core divisions. However, the recent cyber-attack mires the future outlook, with operating profit for the year ahead taking a massive hit. There’s now urgent need for the business to speed up digital transformation plans if investors are to be reassured.
“The food division continues to perform strongly, supported by a more strategic approach to store formats, targeted acquisitions, and increased investment in the supply chain. These moves have strengthened M&S’s value proposition and boosted market share. Meanwhile, prospects for the Ocado retail food delivery joint venture are improving. However, given the limited profitability across the broader online food delivery sector, questions remain about whether the partnership will ultimately deliver significant returns.
“In clothing and home, recent efforts to rationalise ranges, invest in design, and forge new brand partnerships have paid off – appealing to a more style-conscious shopper and lifting both sales and customer perception.
“However, the cyber incident in April casts a shadow over today’s results and raises concerns about near-term performance with an expected financial hit of around £300m before cost migration, insurance and trading action. We had anticipated a strong start to Q1, but ongoing stock disruptions and the prolonged suspension of online orders – still paused nearly a month later – make that unlikely.
“Despite the disruption, consumer sentiment towards M&S remains relatively resilient. But with online unavailable and product gaps in-store, some customers will inevitably turn elsewhere.
“Once operations stabilise, the focus must shift to rebuilding trust and re-engaging lost customers. While shoppers are likely to return over time, M&S will need to act decisively to show its back on track”.
