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| M&S faces 'challenging' trading | M&S faces 'challenging' trading |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Retail giant Marks and Spencer has said that trading conditions will remain "very challenging" after reporting a slowdown in UK sales growth. | |
| M&S said UK like-for-like sales - which strip out the impact of new stores - rose 2% in the 13 weeks to 30 June, against an 8.2% increase a year ago. | |
| Including all stores, UK sales were up 6.4% while group sales rose 7%. | Including all stores, UK sales were up 6.4% while group sales rose 7%. |
| The retailer said rising interest rates and "extreme weather" had combined to make trading volatile in the quarter. | The retailer said rising interest rates and "extreme weather" had combined to make trading volatile in the quarter. |
| M&S added like-for-like sales at its general merchandise division were up 2.9% during the period, while like-for-like food sales rose by just 0.7%. | |
| Including all stores, overall clothing sales rose 3.5% over the quarter, the home section saw sales up 13.4% and food sales climbed 8.5%. | |
| During the 13 weeks, M&S opened 33 more Simply Food stores, including 21 on BP forecourts. | |
| M&S said its international sales had "performed well" over the period with sales rising by 14.8%. The retailer opened 10 stores during the period, including its first stores in Lithuania, Taiwan and Ukraine. | |
| The retailer added that its store modernisation record was on track for it to have 70% of its outlets revamped for the crucial Christmas trading period. |