Marks & Spencer reports 2.9% Q1 sales increase

Marks & Spencer reported group sales increased 2.9% in the 13 weeks to 27 June 2009, largely driven by international sales which were up 15.9%. In its UK business sales rose 1.7%, consisting of a 1.2% increase in general merchandise sales and a 2% increase in food sales. UK like-for-likes fell 1.4% with a 2.4% and 0.5% drop in general merchandise and food respectively. Online saw the best performance, with total sales up 28% during the quarter. Chairman Sir Stuart Rose commented: “We are pleased with the improving trend in our performance. This demonstrates that the actions we are taking are working.” He added: “Consumer confidence appears to be stabilising. However, we remain cautious about the outlook for the remainder of this and next year and will continue to run the business accordingly.”

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