Marks and Spencer raises dividend as statutory revenue hits £17.3bn

The Tip Desk · June 1, 2026 · 2 min read

The retailer increased its full-year dividend by 16.7% to 4.2p per share.

Marks and Spencer Group plc, a Fashion, Home & Beauty and Food retailer, reported statutory revenue of £17.3bn for the 52 weeks ended 28 March 2026, an increase of 25.0% compared to the prior year. The growth was driven by the consolidation of Ocado Retail Limited, which contributed £3.19bn in sales. Excluding Ocado Retail, Group sales grew 1.9%.

Statutory profit before tax fell 28.8% to £364.6m from £511.8m in the previous year. M&S Group adjusted profit before tax decreased to £671.4m from £881.1m. The company reported a net charge of £292.1m for adjusting items, which included £131.3m in costs directly related to a cyber incident.

Performance diverged across business segments. Food sales rose 7.0%, supported by a 3.3% increase in UK volume and growth in shopper numbers. However, Fashion, Home & Beauty sales declined 7.7%, and International sales fell 7.2%. International operating profit before adjusting items rose 8.9% to £39.1m, as cost management and store closures offset the decline in franchise and online sales.

Financial services results were impacted by the cyber incident's effect on the travel money business and investments to integrate the M&S credit card into the Sparks loyalty app, resulting in a profit before adjusting items of £6.2m, down from £7.5m the previous year.

Free cash flow from operations decreased to £131.3m from £443.3m in 2024/25. Despite this, the Board proposed a final dividend of 3.0p per share, bringing the full-year dividend to 4.2p per share.

For 2026/27, the company plans capital expenditure net of disposals of approximately £650m to £750m. Roughly two-thirds of this investment is allocated to Food, the company's fastest growing and highest returning business. Planned spending includes £200m for property, including 18 new Food stores, and £200m for the supply chain, specifically the construction and automation of the Avonmouth regional distribution centre and the fit out of the Daventry national distribution centre.