Records sharp earnings recovery in first half despite clothing challenges

Marks & Spencer (M&S) reported a sharp recovery in first-half earnings, helped by market-share gains in both its food and fashion businesses after disruption from a cyber incident last year. Adjusted profit before tax rose to £403.2 million (from £184.1 million a year earlier), while statutory profit before tax increased to £355.1 million (from £3.4 million). Group sales grew 16.2% to £9.26 billion. The company lifted the interim dividend by 16.7% to 1.4 pence per share. M&S expects full-year adjusted profit before tax of about £941 million, in line with market expectations, but said results still fell short of potential as clothing weakness persisted.