A major cyberattack on Marks & Spencer Group led to a collapse in half-year adjusted pre-tax profit to £184.1m from £413.1m last year.

Food sales rose 7.8%, but fashion, home & beauty and international sales all fell.

The retailer pointed to a £101.6m charge in relation to the incident, with further charges of around £34m expected in the second half of the year, taking total costs to about £136m.

In May, it estimated that the incident would cost it about £300m in operating profits for the year. M&S also said it had claimed £100m from insurance for the cyber attack.

The Food business is now largely recovered and is showing strong sales performance and margins are closer to normal. As the company hash rebuilt online customer traffic in Fashion, Home & Beauty, recovery has been slower.

Group sales during the period rose 22.1% to £8bn, driven by the consolidation of Ocado Retail, which generated revenue of £1.5bn.

Chief executive Stuart Machin described the first half as “an extraordinary moment in time for M&S” buit said “the underlying strength of our business and robust financial foundations gave us the resilience to face into the challenge and deal with it. We are now getting back on track.

“In the second half, we expect profit to be at least in line with last year. This should give us a springboard into the new financial year and set M&S up for further growth. 

The company declared a higher interim dividend of 1.2p from 1p

It will open 18 stores by the end of the financial year. Six of these opened in the first half.

JD Wetherspoon

Pubs chain Wetherspoon said like-for-like sales in the first 14 weeks of the financial year were 3.7% higher than the same period last year.

Bar sales increased by 5.7%, food by 0.9% and slot/fruit machines by 8.9%. Hotel room sales decreased by 6.3%. Total sales have grown by 4.2% in the year to date.

However, chairman Tim Martin again criticised the differential tax treatment between pubs and supermarkets.

“The average price of a pint in pub is about £5.16 and labour is about 35% of the ex-VAT sales price (Mitchells & Butlers 36.2%, FY24), about £1.50 per pint.

“A supermarket pint costs about £1.50 and labour is about 12% of the ex-VAT sales price (Tesco 12.0%, FY24), about £0.15 per pint.

“Therefore, it can be seen that a 10% wage rise will increase the cost of a pint by about 15 pence in a pub versus about 1.5 pence in a supermarket.

“Increased labour costs are, consequently, dramatically widening the pricing differential between pubs and supermarkets, to the anger and consternation of customers. 

“A further widening of the differential results from pubs paying 20% VAT on food sales, whereas supermarkets pay nothing.

“As investment bank Morgan Stanley pointed out in recent research, pubs have lost 50% of their beer volumes to supermarkets since the year 2000- price is surely the main culprit.

“It is important to emphasise the above points since it’s not clear that they are fully appreciated by legislators, economists or the public.

“The company is pleased with the continued sales momentum but is mindful of the Chancellor’s Budget statement later this month and, as a result, is slightly more cautious in its outlook for the remainder of the year.”

Weir Group

Engineering firm Weir Group reiterated its full-year guidance despite “elevated levels of uncertainty” related to critical metals disputes and further tariffs between the US and China.

For the three months ended 30 September, Weir said total group orders, including contributions from its Micromine and Townley acquisitions, were up 2% year-on-year, with original equipment orders rising 15%, exluding large orders received in the prior year, and after market orders up 10% year-on-year.

Going into the fourth quarter, Weir said it was focused on executing against its “strong orderbook”. 

Barratt Redrow

Housebuilder Barratt Redrow wants the government to help stimulate demand, following a slight slowdown in trading momentum since the start of the financial year.

The company remains on track to hit its home completions targets this year, but net private reservation rates have eased slightly since the start of July due to challenging conditions and increased uncertainty ahead of the Budget.

In an AGM statement it said it generated just 228 net private reservations per week, down from 255 last year, operating from an average of 402 sales outlets, down from 433.

Meanwhile, forward order book totalled 10,669 homes by the end of last month, down from 10,706 homes at the same point last year, though the order book value increased to £3.28bn from £3.21bn last year.

Home completions were 7.9% ahead of the same date last year at 3,665, with the company on track to deliver between 17,200 and 17,800 homes over the full financial year, with around 40% expected in the first half.

M&G

In a third quarter update, Andrea Rossi, group chief executive at the wealth manager said that after a strong first half, the company has maintained positive momentum, continuing to deliver against its growth priorities.

“Group AUMA increased 3% in the quarter to £365 billion, supported by £1.8 billion of net inflows from open business across Asset Management and Life, reflecting the strength of our business model and investment capabilities.

“Our Asset Management performance was particularly pleasing as we delivered £1.5 billion of net inflows from external clients, with good client demand across asset classes and geographies.

“Despite a volatile macroeconomic environment, we are seeing growing momentum across M&G, as we continue to execute on our strategy and deliver strong long-term value to both clients and shareholders.”