Marks & Spencer has reported a sharp recovery in half-year profits, with food sales leading a rebound from last year’s cyberattack — although its clothing business is still short of where it was before the attack.
The British retailer said adjusted profit before tax more than doubled to £403.2 million in the 26 weeks to 26 September 2026, up from £184.1 million in the same period last year. Statutory profit before tax jumped to £355.1 million from just £3.4 million a year earlier, when the cyber incident hit trading hard.
Group sales rose 16.2% to £9.26 billion, with every main division growing.
Food leads the recovery
Food was the standout performer. Food sales rose 13.9% to £5.16 billion, with like-for-like sales up 11.7% — ahead of analysts’ expectations of 10.9%. Adjusted operating profit in food soared to £288.6 million from £89.1 million, lifting the division’s operating margin to 5.6% from 2.0%.
The company said it is now Britain’s fastest-growing grocer, with volume growth of about 12% in a flat market, and that it gained market share in both of its main businesses.
Clothing still catching up
Fashion, Home & Beauty sales rose 17.5% to £2.00 billion, and adjusted operating profit climbed to £150.5 million from £46.1 million. But the division’s profit and its 7.5% margin remained below the £243.4 million and 12.0% margin recorded two years ago.
Management blamed lingering availability problems from the cyberattack — manual ordering left gaps in core womenswear lines and sizes — together with a weak clothing market and lower store sales during a prolonged summer heatwave. Online sales recovered strongly, up 84.6%, while store sales fell 2.0%.
Chief executive Stuart Machin said there was still much more to do in the clothing business, even as the group as a whole hit the ground running in the first half.
The wider group
International sales grew 22.1%, delivering adjusted operating profit of £15.3 million. Ocado Retail, in which M&S holds a 50% stake, swung to an adjusted operating profit of £25.6 million from a £3.1 million loss, on revenues up 20.6% to £1.78 billion.
Adjusting items fell to a net charge of £51.7 million from £167.8 million a year earlier, when the figure included direct cyber-incident costs.
The board declared an interim dividend of 1.4p per share, up from 1.2p, payable on 8 January 2027 to shareholders on the register at 27 November 2026.
Still below two years ago — but outlook held
The headline doubling flatters the comparison: last year’s half-year was depressed by the cyberattack, which forced M&S to stop online sales for around six weeks. On a two-year basis, adjusted profit before tax of £403.2 million remained below the £413.1 million recorded in the first half of 2024/25, because strong food earnings did not fully offset clothing weakness.
For the full year, M&S said it expects adjusted profit before tax to be in line with current market expectations, with analysts on average forecasting about £941 million. Food margins are expected to end ahead of their 2024/25 level.
The test for the second half is whether fashion, home and beauty can turn rising sales back into healthier margins.
Frequently asked questions
How much profit did M&S make?
Adjusted profit before tax was £403.2 million in the 26 weeks to 26 September 2026, more than double the £184.1 million a year earlier.
Why was last year so weak?
A cyberattack in 2025 disrupted online sales and store deliveries, depressing last year’s first-half profit to £3.4 million on a statutory basis.
Is M&S fully recovered?
Not yet on a two-year view: adjusted profit remains below the £413.1 million of two years ago, mainly because clothing profits have not fully recovered.
Sources: Reuters via Global Banking & Finance (https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/m-profit-rebounds-cyber-attack-clothing-drags-recovery/); Alliance News via Morningstar (https://www.morningstar.com/news/alliance-news/1793782564830302100/ms-rebounds-from-cyber-attack-as-food-offsets-clothing-profit-miss); TickStock results summary (https://tickstock.io/a/ZRKcxf6/marks-and-spencer-half-year-profit-more-than-doubles-as-sales-rise).
