In its preliminary results for the year ended 28th March 2026, Marks & Spencer Group achieved an adjusted profit before tax of £671.4m (down 23.8%), with H2 up 4.1% – which the retailer describes as a "resilient performance" despite the cyber incident that impacted it early last year. Adjusting items of £292.1m included £131.3m of "incident-related costs".
Statutory PBT was down 28.8% at £364.6m. Fashion, Home & Beauty sales were down 7.7%, delivering an adjusted operating profit of £213.4m. International sales were down 7.2%.
The group's transformation continued apace. Structural costs were reduced by £89m, "funding reinvestment and resilience", and the retailer delivered an expanded store-opening programme, comprising 12 new food and three full-line stores in the UK. Investment in digital capabilities and technology, including its online platform and planning systems, increased.
“That was an extraordinary year," says M&S' chief executive, Stuart Machin. "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.
"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.”
