Marks & Spencer is no stranger to false dawns, so caution from the management is understandable.
Better food sales and stronger margins across both sides of the business propelled adjusted pre-tax profits to £360 million, a way ahead of the £275 million analysts had forecast for the first six months of the year.
Profits of that magnitude are not expected to repeat in the second half. Stuart Machin, its chief executive, is “quietly confident” about Christmas and says momentum in October has been sustained. However, how sales fare next year is far less certain.
Interest rates are the highest they have been in two decades and there is the chance that geopolitical turmoil will have a knock-on effect on the macroeconomic picture.
Annual sales comparatives
