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Marks & Spencer announced profits more than doubled to £403.2m in the six months to late September, despite criticism of the UK Budget and reports of cookie shortages.
Marks & Spencer (M&S) has reported that profits more than doubled to £403.2 million in the six months leading to late September, compared to £184 million during the same period a year earlier. Despite the financial growth, M&S chief Stuart Machin criticized the recent UK Budget, describing it as "a whole lot of nothing."
M&S reported sales rose 16.2% to £9.25 billion for the half-year ending in September. Food takings increased by almost 14%, while fashion, home, and beauty sales grew by 17.5% year-on-year.
However, Mr. Machin noted that the company missed out on some sales due to manual ordering processes—a legacy of a previous cyber attack—which led to incorrect buying decisions and insufficient stock of high-demand products. While M&S confirmed it was not affected by a recent wave of cyber attacks targeting supermarket refrigeration systems, Mr. Machin stated, "Cyber is top of our mind."
Mr. Machin expressed disappointment that the Budget did not include measures to relieve pressure on retailers. He characterized the last three budgets as "probably one of the biggest tax grabs in history that I have seen," noting that a headline freeze on business rates actually resulted in an extra £10 million on top of the £170 million the company already pays.
On trade, Mr. Machin welcomed a draft deal between the UK and EU aimed at removing post-Brexit checks on food and agriculture exports. He stated, "Having an easier route through without the burden of so much paperwork and admin will be quite a big win," noting that current processes cost the company £10 million in extra costs.
M&S is currently facing social media reports from shoppers regarding a shortage of certain bakery items, specifically milk chocolate, white chocolate, and triple chocolate cookies. In response to these reports, an M&S spokesperson said, "Our freshly baked cookies are a firm favourite with M&S customers, so it’s no surprise they can get snapped up quickly."
The retailer announced that new Chocolate & Cornflake cookies will launch on November 4. Additionally, M&S confirmed that Peppermint Bark cookies will not return for the Christmas season, to be replaced by the new chocolate and cornflake variety.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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