Marks & Spencer: investors overlook robust trading update

(CercleFinance.com) - Marks & Spencer shares opened lower on Friday, with robust Christmas trading figures largely overlooked by investors, who continued to focus on the worrying health situation in the UK.


The British retailer released its third-quarter trading update this morning, which was slightly better than the consensus expected.

M&S said food sales rose 2.2% in the 13 weeks to 26 December, its fiscal third quarter, versus the consensus growth forecast of just 0.6%.

However, the company said clothing and homeware sales dropped over 25% in the past quarter. That compared with consensus of 31%, but also UBS' forecast for a smaller fall of about 19%.

Investors also seemed to worry about the impact of the recent Covid lockdowns imposed in the UK following a spike in cases, with M&S warning that "near term trading remains very challenging."

The shares were down over 2% on the London Stock Exchange on Friday morning. They are still up over 45% over the last six months and 5% over the past week.

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