Continued progress in a challenging market'
· Group sales +0.8%
· Total UK sales +1.2%: Food +3.1%; GM -1.2% (Clothing -0.3%, Home -7.5%)
· Like for like UK sales -0.7%: Food +1.0%; GM -2.8%
· Direct sales +22.8%
· International sales -2.0%
Marc Bolland, Chief Executive said:
"Marks & Spencer continued to make progress in a challenging market. Group sales grew by 0.8%, and UK sales grew by 1.2%. Our Food business has again performed well, especially in healthy food, whilst the General Merchandise performance was more mixed.
"Direct had another strong quarter with sales up 22.8% through a number of new initiatives delivering an improved customer shopping experience.
"Strategic international markets, including India and China, delivered double digit growth but we continue to experience macro-economic pressure and restructuring in some parts of Europe.
"We have continued to manage costs tightly, and are confident of delivering full year profits in line with expectations. While the short term trading outlook continues to be challenging, we are focused on investing in line with our plan and are making strong progress against our goal of becoming an international, multi-channel retailer."
