M&S smashes profit expectations on the back of strong food sales

Marks & Spencer’s half-year profits rose 17.2% to £407.8 million, well ahead of the £359 million analysts were forecasting

Marks and Spencer shopfront in Liverpool
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Marks & Spencer has smashed profit expectations, with the retailer’s food department returning stellar results that sent its shares to fresh nine-year highs.

The company’s half-year profits rose 17.2% to £407.8 million, it told investors this morning, well ahead of the £359 million analysts were forecasting.

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Chris Newlands

Chris is a freelance journalist, and was previously an editor and correspondent at the Financial Times as well as the business and money editor at The i Newspaper. He is also the author of the Virgin Money Maker, the personal finance guide published by Virgin Books, and has written for the BBC, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, South China Morning Post, TimeOut, Barron's and The Guardian. He is a graduate in Economics.