M&S results published today show adjusted profit before tax of £184.1m for the 26 weeks to 28 September 2025, down 55.4% year on year, as the retailer counted the one-off impact of a cyber incident partly offset by £100m of insurance proceeds.
Statutory profit before tax was £3.4m. Group sales reached £8.0bn, up 22.1%, reflecting the first-time consolidation of Ocado Retail. The board declared an interim dividend of 1.2p per share, up from 1.0p.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Cyber security update: systems taken offline, restoration prioritised
M&S said its “immediate response” to the cyber incident included taking some systems offline to protect customers, suppliers and the business.
Operations Director Sacha Berendji led the restoration programme, which prioritised critical trading and customer-facing systems; the company said its online offer was restored in August.
Delivery timelines for a new Fashion, Home & Beauty planning platform have been accelerated, with further investment under way in personalisation and loyalty capabilities.
Adjusting items linked to the incident totalled £101.6m, while £100.0m of insurance proceeds were recognised centrally.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe financial impact varied by division. In Food, M&S cited higher markdown and waste caused by manual stock allocation processes during recovery.
In Fashion, Home & Beauty, the hit stemmed from a temporary pause in online operations from late April to early June and a gradual recovery through summer, alongside additional stock management costs.
The company said these effects are easing as systems normalise.
Segment performance: food up, clothing and home down; Ocado loss narrows
Food sales rose 7.8% to £4,531.9m, with adjusted operating profit of £89.1m and a 2.0% margin. By contrast, Fashion, Home & Beauty sales declined 16.4% to £1,697.6m amid the online disruption, delivering adjusted operating profit of £46.1m and a 2.7% margin.
International sales fell 11.6% to £255.8m, though adjusted operating profit increased to £13.3m, a 5.2% margin. Ocado Retail recorded an operating loss before adjusting items of £3.1m for the period.
Management highlighted signs of demand stabilisation in clothing and home as online trading rebuilt, while recent store openings continued to perform ahead of plan.
In Food, M&S pointed to a growing shopper base and a pipeline of new and renewed stores.
Balance sheet, dividend and outlook
M&S said it entered the second half with a “strong balance sheet,” reporting net funds of £176.1m excluding lease liabilities and total cash and liquidity above £1.6bn.
Free cash flow from operations was £2.53bn. The interim dividend was raised to 1.2p in line with policy.
The group reiterated its focus on cost reduction, supply-chain investment and technology simplification as it resumes transformation programmes paused during the incident response.
The retailer described the cyber incident as a one-off event that weighed on first-half earnings but said it is regaining momentum as trading and customer systems are restored.
Management is fast-tracking technology upgrades designed to lower infrastructure complexity and improve resilience, while continuing targeted investment in value and availability across the store estate and online channels.
