Marks & Spencer is on course to rejoin the ranks of the UK’s top 100 listed companies after its tie-in with England’s Lionesses – and surging demand for holiday kit and summer food – helped profits shoot ahead of expectations.
Shares in the high street retailer surged more than 8% to an 18-month high of just over 221p on Tuesday after analysts said profits could come in higher than previously flagged, warming M&S up for re-entry into the UK’s FTSE 100 league in September for the first time in four years.
Shore Capital, which acts as house broker for M&S, raised its profits forecast by 9%. Deutsche Bank analysts were impressed, saying M&S was “regaining its magic” with “sparkle still to come”.
They added: “M&S has shown further evidence of its journey along the road to redemption with a very strong 19-week trading performance.”
In an unscheduled update to the City released on Tuesday morning, M&S told investors that its interim results, due to be published in November, would show “a significant improvement” against previous expectations.
M&S, which has provided tailoring for England’s men’s football team since 2007, this year began designing the formal outfits for the England women’s football team during the World Cup, including tailored trousers, jackets, waistcoats and shorts in navy blue and white.
A strong summer performance follows a spring rebound for the retailer, which has seen its fortunes improve just as rival John Lewis suffers a slowdown.
The M&S turnaround plan includes revamping stores, improving the clothing offering and launching its “Remarksable” value food range.
In the first 19 weeks of the financial year, like-for-like food sales grew 11% and clothing and homeware sales rose by more than 6%.
The holiday range is selling well, with a 46% increase in beachwear and a 22% rise in linen between April and June.
Joe Dawson, retail analyst at GlobalData, said football – and holiday shopping – were key to the recovery.
“The retailer will have benefited from the popularity of the Women’s World Cup,” Dawson said.
“Another football adjacent programme has been the retailer’s Eat Well, Play Well campaign, featuring members of the UK’s national football teams as well as prominent figures in the community promoting healthier lifestyles and urging shoppers to ‘follow the flower’, in reference to M&S’s healthy food branding.”
M&S said: “There remain considerable uncertainties about the economic outlook, and there is a risk that the consumer market will tighten as the year progresses. Nevertheless, we now expect the outcome for the year to show profit growth on 2022-23, and the interim results to show a significant improvement against previous expectations.”
The boost in sales comes despite the cost of living crisis squeezing consumer incomes, and just weeks after the clothing retailer Next upgraded its profit forecast after shoppers flocked to the summer sales.
Charlie Huggins, the manager of the Quality Shares Portfolio at Wealth Club, said: “This is evidence that the UK consumer is still spending, despite the gloomy economic headlines.
“The results are also testament to the group’s progress against its strategy.”
M&S shares hit their highest level since January 2022 on Tuesday, lifting its market value up to £4.3bn, enough to qualify to return to the FTSE 100 blue-chip share index, on today’s prices.
The retailer fell out of the FTSE 100 in 2019, after a 35-year run, after a drop in its share price. The next FTSE reshuffle is due in September, and M&S is now worth enough to qualify for a return. To enter the blue-chip index, a company would need to rise to the 90th position or higher. A better performance by other businesses, or a drop back in M&S’s share price over the coming weeks, could still stymie its return.
M&S’s recovery is in contrast to John Lewis, which posted a worse than expected loss of £234m for the last financial year. That led JLP to scrap its staff bonus this year for only the second time since 1953, raising questions over its plans to expand into financial services and build-to-rent above Waitrose stores.
