M&S plunges to £90m loss in worst year

MARKS & SPENCER has suffered its first loss in 94 years as a public company after the coronavirus crisis dealt a major blow to clothing sales.

The high street giant ran up a pre-tax deficit of £87.6million in the 26 weeks to September 26, compared with a £158.8million profit in the same period last year.

But chief executive Steve Rowe told shareholders the company remained ‘resilient’ and its halfyear performance had been ‘much more robust than at first seemed possible’.

M&S is continuing to push forward with its transformation programme, which saw

7,000 jobs cut in August, as it seeks to emerge from the pandemic in a ‘stronger, leaner and more focused position’.

The retailer, whose brand ambassador is TV presenter

Holly Willoughby (pictured), said revenue for the half-year period slid 15.8 per cent to £4.09billion. The clothing and home division, hit by enforced store closures, saw sales dive 40.8 per cent, recovering to a 21.3 per cent decline in the second quarter as it benefited from the reopening of stores and strong online sales. Trading in October has continued at similar rates to the second quarter, with clothing and home sales down 21.5 per cent but food sales up three per cent. Its grocery business saw like-for-like sales rising by 2.7 per cent on the back of substantial growth from its Simply Food stores. Mr Rowe also hailed strong growth in its joint venture with Ocado, which started delivering M&S food at the start of September. The partnership reported a 47.9 per cent jump in sales, while profitability had also improved.