Marks & Spencer reported an 88% slump in full-year profit, reflecting a collapse in clothing sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and warned investors not to expect a dividend in the current year.
However it said it was making progress with its turnaround plan, had traded well in the early weeks of the 2021-22 year and that profits would recover.
M&S made a pretax profit before one-off items of £50.3 million ) in the year to April 3, down from the £403.1 million made in 2019-20.
The group said like-for-like clothing and homeware sales plunged 31.5%, damaged by multiple coronavirus lockdowns which shuttered stores.
Steve Rowe, CEO at Marks & Spencer said:
“In a year like no other we have delivered a resilient trading performance, thanks in no small part to the extraordinary efforts of our colleagues. In addition, by going further and faster in our transformation through the Never the Same Again programme, we moved beyond fixing the basics to forge a reshaped M&S. With the right team in place to accelerate change in the trading businesses and build a trajectory for future growth, we now have a clear line of sight on the path to make M&S special again. The transformation has moved to the next phase.”
