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M & S results
Marks and Spencer’s results for the 13 weeks to 27
September 2008 have highlighted the following:
Group sales up 0.4%
• UK sales down 1.6%: General Merchandise -2.9% (Clothing -3.5%; Home +2.9%
); Food -0.5%
• UK like for like sales down 6.1%: General Merchandise -6.4%; Food -5.9%
• Online Sales up 34%
• International sales up 24.2%
Sir Stuart Rose, Chairman said:
"Group sales were up 0.4%. In the UK sales were down 1.6%, although
they remained relatively steady quarter on quarter, despite the difficult
environment. Consumer confidence remains fragile and the retail environment
unpredictable. Consumers are increasingly cautious about their budgets. We
have responded by offering our customers better values and more promotions
across the business, while at the same time tightly controlling our costs.
"In General Merchandise we continue to offer great quality, stylish product,
combined with keen values across all price points. We are confident about
our Autumn/Winter offer. In Food, we are committed to giving our customers
outstanding product while implementing a range of initiatives to improve
value, innovation and availability.
"Our investment to improve values along with a more promotional stance has
more than offset improvements in bought-in margins. As a result, we are
currently expecting a reduction of around 100 basis points in UK gross
margin for the full year, although this will depend on market conditions and
our trading stance.
"We have managed operating costs tightly and now expect operating cost
growth for the full year of 4-5%, compared to our previous guidance of 7%.
Capital expenditure this year is now expected to be around £700m compared to
our previous guidance of £800-900m. For 2009/10 we now expect to spend
around £400m with the focus of spend being on supply chain and information
technology systems."
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