7th Jan 2005 07:00
Marks & Spencer Group PLC07 January 2005 Issued: Friday 7 January 2005 TRADING STATEMENT UK Retail Sales for the 6 weeks to 1 January 2005 and 13 weeks to 1 January 2005are shown below. Given that the 2003/04 financial year was for a 53 week tradingperiod, the figures have been produced both on a financial accounting basis and,to avoid distortion, on a comparable trading week basis. 6 weeks to 1 January 2005 13 weeks to 1 January 2005 Q2: 12 weeks to (vs 6 weeks to 3 January (vs 13 weeks to 3 January 2 October 2004 2004) 2004) Comparable Actual % Like for like % Actual % Like for like % Actual Liketrading on LY on LY on LY on LY % on forweek LY like %basis on LY Clothing -4.9 -4.4 -3.7 Home -23.3 -25.2 -21.4 TotalClothing -7.4 -8.5 -7.2 -8.5 -5.6 -7.7& Home Food +1.7 -1.7 +1.6 -2.9 +3.1 -2.6 Total -3.7 -5.6 -3.6 -6.0 -1.8 -5.5 6 weeks to 1 January 2005 13 weeks to 1 January 2005 Q2: 12 weeks to (vs 6 weeks to (vs 13 weeks to 2 October 2004 27 December 2003) 27 December 2003) Financial Actual % Like for like % Actual % Like for like % Actual Likeaccounting on LY on LY on LY on LY % on forbasis LY like % on LY Clothing -4.4 -3.1 -3.6 Home -27.5 -24.6 -21.4 TotalClothing -7.7 -8.8 -6.0 -7.4 -5.5 -7.6& Home Food +0.7 -2.7 +1.9 -2.5 +2.9 -2.8 Total -4.3 -6.3 -2.8 -5.3 -1.8 -5.5 When we last reported in November, the trading environment had become moredifficult. Despite heightened levels of promotional activity over the Christmasperiod, including our two Christmas Spectaculars, significantly more stock wascarried over into the end of season Sale compared with last year. While we have achieved good clearance of the Sale stock, the impact of the Salehas contributed to higher markdown costs for the quarter. Markdown costs for thesecond half, which includes an estimate for the impact of the Easter Sale, arenow expected to show an increase of c.£40m compared with last year. Stockcontrol is a key priority for the business and total forward commitments are now25% less than for the equivalent period last year. While our Food business traded disappointingly throughout October and November,trading showed some improvement over the Christmas period. Although we still have three months of trading ahead of us until the end of thecurrent financial year, given our third quarter performance, and in particularthe impact of higher markdown costs, we now expect that profit before tax andexceptional items for the current year will be in the range of £600 - 625million. Statements made in this announcement that look forward in time or that expressmanagement's beliefs, expectations or estimates regarding future occurrences andprospects are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the UnitedStates federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect Marks &Spencer's current expectations concerning future events and actual results maydiffer materially from current expectations or historical results. Any suchforward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties,including failure by Marks & Spencer to predict accurately customer preferences;decline in the demand for products offered by Marks & Spencer; competitiveinfluences; changes in levels of store traffic or consumer spending habits;effectiveness of Marks & Spencer's brand awareness and marketing programmes;general economic conditions or a downturn in the retail or financial servicesindustries; acts of war or terrorism worldwide; work stoppages, slowdowns orstrikes; and changes in financial and equity markets. Contacts: Investor Relations:Amanda Mellor +44 (0)20 8718 3604Damian Evans +44 (0)20 8718 1563 Corporate Press Office: 020 8718 1919 Investor/Analyst Conference call details: This will be hosted by Stuart Rose at 08.30 (GMT) on Friday 7 January 2005. Dial in number: +44 (0)20 7162 0185 A recording of this call will be available until 17.00 (GMT) on Friday 14January 2005. Dial in number: +44 (0)20 7031 4064Pin Code: 640026 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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