SHARE OF THE WEEK: Investors hoping M&S can proceed restoration
Investors will be hoping Marks & Spencer can continue its dazzling recovery.
Boss Stuart Machin will update the City on the High Street retailer’s full-year results on Wednesday.
Analysts are forecasting overall sales of £12.9billion, an 8 per cent increase on the year before.
And profits are expected to have shot up 41 per cent to £608million.
M&S shares have tripled in value in little over 18 months – taking the company back into the FTSE 100 in the process.
But expectations are high – meaning it will need another stellar performance to keep the run going. M&S has shaken off its ‘dowdy’ image when it comes to its clothes, benefiting from outside brands and celebrity partnerships with the likes of actors Hannah Waddingham and Sienna Miller.
Deutsche Bank experts expect clothing and home sales to have risen 5 per cent to £3.9billion.
Its food sales are also anticipated to have done well, rising 10.5 per cent to just under £8billion.
Industry data has suggested that M&S could leapfrog middle-class favourite Waitrose as a more popular supermarket.
Investors will also want to hear if a spat between M&S and Ocado is close to a resolution.
They disagree over how much M&S owes Ocado for a final payment after their 2019 joint venture deal.
