Full Year Results for the 52 Weeks Ended 28 March 2026

MARKS AND SPENCER GROUP PLC

PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 28 MARCH 2026 

ISSUED: 20 MAY 2026

“REINVESTING FOR GROWTH”

“That was an extraordinary year. We were laser focused on our customers, worked incredibly hard to recover our business, and we came out stronger.
Throughout we were transparent with customers and they rewarded us with their loyalty. We remain the UK’s most trusted brand, and we never take that for granted. We aim to serve our customers better every day, and we thank them for shopping with us. We continue to invest in the value, quality and innovation that they look for in M&S.

A resilient balance sheet supported by the hard work done on our cash position in recent years allowed us to absorb the cost of disruption without compromising our financial health. With strong net funds we continued our transformation at pace, completing our most ambitious year in a decade of opening new and renewal stores alongside significant advances in supply chain and digital capability. 

Progress would not have been possible without our colleagues across every part of M&S. We faced into this challenge together: one team, sleeves rolled up, forging the culture we need to transform. The commitment they have shown through a demanding year has been nothing short of exceptional, and I thank each one of them for playing their part. We have a renewed sense of purpose and you can feel that energy and determination around the business today. We are fast-paced, still positively dissatisfied, and always aiming higher.

Food was our standout performer as more customers than ever chose M&S Food for its quality, innovation, and value. Performance accelerated in the second half, returns were strong, and we continue to outperform the market with the prospect of more growth to come.
In Fashion, Home & Beauty we delivered leading style credentials at the best possible value, and this resonated with customers. Recovery has taken longer, but there is strong growth potential. To support this, we have accelerated our supply chain improvements, acquiring a fully automated fashion distribution site in Lichfield to increase capacity and deliver new styles faster. 

Retailers face a triple whammy of headwinds with increased taxation, a greater regulatory burden and ongoing global conflict. At M&S we are unshaken by short-term events. We have a clear plan and there is much within our control as we reinvest in value and quality for our customers. 
Our job is to protect the magic of M&S while modernising the rest. We’ve now got the momentum to do that at pace. We have a strong culture, a hard-working focused team, and a growth business. There’s an extraordinary opportunity ahead, and we are on it.”
 

Stuart Machin
M&S Chief Executive

 

Resilient performance despite cyber incident; second half profit growth on last year

• M&S Group adjusted profit before tax1 down 23.8% at £671.4m with H2 up 4.1%
• Statutory profit before tax down 28.8% at £364.6m
• Food sales2 up 7.0%; adjusted operating profit of £444.5m, margin of 4.6%
• Fashion, Home & Beauty sales down 7.7%; adjusted operating profit of £213.4m, margin of 5.5%
• International3 sales down 7.2%; adjusted operating profit of £39.1m, margin of 7.2%
• Adjusting items of £292.1m includes £131.3m of incident-related costs
• Insurance proceeds of £100.0m, in respect of incident, recorded centrally in adjusted profit
• Strong balance sheet position, net funds excluding lease liabilities of £338.2m
• Revolving credit facility renewed and £300m bond buyback and reissue completed
• Full year dividend increased by 16.7% to 4.2p

Transformation progress maintained

• Food volume growth underpinned by consistent investment in value, quality, innovation and long-term supplier commitments
• Fashion style perception metrics improved, despite incident disruption
• International franchise terms are being reset. New partnerships delivering growth
• Structural cost reduction of £89m funding reinvestment and resilience
• Expanded store opening programme with 12 new Food and 3 Full Line stores
• Capacity secured for Fashion online and Food supply chains to support long-term growth
• Digital & Technology investment increasing, including in online platform and planning systems
• Sparks relaunched with wallet-based rewards to drive greater personalisation and engagement

_{¹ M&S Group adjusted profit before tax excludes the profit or loss attributable to shares we do not own in subsidiary companies and adjusting items. This measure was introduced from 2025/26 following the consolidation of Ocado Retail Limited. See page 12 for a bridge between this measure and statutory profit. 
² References to ‘sales’ throughout this announcement are statutory revenue plus the gross value of consignment sales ex. VAT. 
³ Results of the Channel Islands have been reclassified from International to be reported within either Food or Fashion, Home & Beauty.
⁴ Lease surrender payments have been split out from cash lease payments and are now within free cash flow but no longer within free cash flow from operations.
⁵ Net debt now includes the M&S Travel Money Revolving Credit Facility agreement with Eurochange (£9.8m).
⁶ Statutory profit after tax includes losses attributable to non-controlling interests of £23.2m (2024/25: £3.8m), driven by consolidation of Ocado Retail Limited.
^a-h Worldpanel sourcing throughout this document is listed on page 11.}

_{Non-GAAP measures and alternative performance measures (APMs) are discussed within this release. A glossary and reconciliation to statutory measures is provided at the end of this document. Adjusted results are consistent with how business performance is measured internally and presented to aid comparison. Refer to Notes 1 and 3 of the financial information for further details.}

A year of two halves

Performance in 2025/26 was a year of two halves: significant operational impact from the cyber incident during the first, followed by a return to sales and profit growth in the second. Despite the disruption, M&S made further progress on its transformation, enabled by a strong balance sheet and sustained net funds position.

In 2025/26, M&S Group adjusted profit before tax was £671.4m down from £881.1m. Second half adjusted profit increased 4.1% year-on-year, as growth in Food more than offset the decline in Fashion, Home & Beauty.

Food sales grew 7.0% as customer numbersa increased and market share grew 17bps to 4.1%b. Food invested in trusted value, increased quality and made regular new product launches. Adjusted operating profit was £444.5m down from £491.8m in the prior year, reflecting sustained volume growth in H2 following the impact of increased markdown and waste in H1.

Fashion, Home & Beauty sales declined 7.7%, reflecting the temporary pause in online trading and systems access, which disrupted stock flow and restricted availability. Despite these operational challenges, customer perceptions of style saw an encouraging improvement. Adjusted operating profit was £213.4m down from £478.0m in the prior year, reflecting the markdown and clearance of excess seasonal stock related to the incident, principally in H2.

International reported sales declined 7.2% with an improving performance in H2, partly offset by shipment delays to the Middle East in the final month of the financial year. Adjusted operating profit increased to £39.1m from £35.9m in the prior year driven by reduced costs, as International began to reset franchise agreements and built new wholesale and online marketplace partnerships. 

During the incident, teams operated with pace and accountability, prioritising customers, recovering the business and maintaining delivery of the transformation. 

Reinvesting for growth

M&S enters 2026/27 with increased focus on its three core investment programmes of supply chain modernisation, technology transformation and store rotation. As outlined at last year’s Capital Markets Event, the year ahead sees a step-up in investment for growth, and in cost savings ambition. 

A pipeline of new, high-volume store openings has been developed. Supply chain capacity is being increased with investment focused on enabling volume growth and reducing cost to serve. Near-term online improvements are focused on search, imagery, check-out and payments. 

Digital and technology investment in the fashion planning platform, food warehouse management systems and e-commerce platform improvements restarted in the second half. The next phase prioritises simplification of the technology estate and driving online growth. AI is being used selectively where it reduces cost or improves decisions including pricing, waste reduction and personalised customer offers. 

Sparks has been relaunched, focusing on wallet-based customer rewards, laying the groundwork for greater personalisation and engagement. 

Structural cost reduction of £600m is targeted between 2022/23 and 2027/28. Initiatives are expected to deliver increased in year savings, helping to offset frontline colleague pay inflation and government tax levies. 

The strategy supports medium-term growth in revenue, earnings per share and free cash flow and capital allocation priorities reflect this. This year M&S capital expenditure will increase to c.£650m-£750m, with approximately two-thirds targeting the long-term growth opportunity in Food.

Outlook

M&S enters 2026/27 with a clear plan and a strong balance sheet, focused on delivering further improvements to availability and service levels. Profit growth is expected to resume versus 2024/25.

Food continues to drive volume growth through reinvestment in value, quality and innovation and increased new store openings. Fashion, Home & Beauty’s priority is delivering growth on the back of stronger style credentials and new supply chain capabilities.
The outlook for the current year includes higher fuel, freight and input costs and continued government tax levies and regulatory headwinds for the sector. These are being mitigated through improved buying, reinvestment in value to drive volume, and savings from the structural cost reduction programme.

Further progress on the transformation is anticipated in the year ahead, as M&S reinvests for growth.

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20 May 2026 2026 Corporate