M&S: better than expected at Christmas but share down

(CercleFinance.com) - M&S: better than expected at Christmas but share down

Marks & Spencer's announced better-than-expected sales figures for the Christmas quarter on Thursday, notably thanks to its strong performance in food.


Like-for-like sales in its food division rose by 8.9% in the 13 weeks to 28 December, well ahead of the 7.5% increase anticipated by analysts.

In ready-to-wear, home and beauty, sales rose by 1.9%, again better than the consensus (+1.5%).

Despite this better-than-expected performance, M&S shares fell by over 5% on Thursday morning on the London Stock Exchange, posting the biggest drop on the FTSE 100 index.

The share nevertheless rose 7% between 20 November and 3 January, in anticipation of strong sales figures over the festive period.

This brings the share's rise over the past 12 months to around 25%.

While citing an "uncertain" outlook for economic growth, interest rate trends and inflation, the retailer nonetheless expressed confidence in its ability to make further "progress" by the end of the fiscal year, to end-March.


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