Marks & Spencer expects its online operations to be fully restored by August as it recovers from a damaging cyberattack.

Its digital business was severely disrupted by hackers two months ago and its click and collect services are still not fully functioning.

However, chief executive Stuart Machin told the group’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday that progress was being made to gett back to normal trading.

“Within the next four weeks, we’re aiming for the whole of online to be fully restored and open,” he told shareholders.

“We then have to replenish Donington [M&S’s warehouse at Castle Donington in Leicestershire], get all the automation back up and running, and restart the engine all over again.”

The retailer sent out e-gift cards last week to customers who had online orders cancelled or had click and collect orders delayed.

The cyberattack on its systems in April affected online sales and impacted on stock in its stores, leaviung M&S with an expected £300m hit to this years’ profits, though this will be partly recovered through insurance.

The disruption has delayed the relaunch of Sparks, the company’s loyalty programme, by a few months. Mr Machin said “it isn’t in the priority order”, though it would be used to win back customers, particularly those affected by the online outages.

Chairman Archie Norman said this would also be reflected in executive pay. “All our pay is performance related,” he said.

“If the shareholders don’t do so well, the management team don’t do so well. Of course, the financial effect of this will be reflected in bonus incentive payments in the year ahead.”

Mr Norman said the retailer was “charting a path” to higher dividend payouts after strengthening its balance sheet.

The disruption will not hold back a major store rollout. This year the retailer plans to open 16 stores, extend nine, and renew 12 others, with a combined investment of £300m.