M&S Profits Bounce Back to £355m, 18 Months Into Cyber-Attack Recovery

Marks & Spencer has reported half-year profits of £355m, up from just £3.4m a year earlier — yet the retailer admits the cyber-attack that began over Easter 2025 was still hurting clothing sales more than a year later.

The profit figure, covering the six months to 26 September, came in better than City analysts expected. But the recovery is uneven. Total sales across the food-to-fashion group rose 16.2% to £9.2bn, driven almost entirely by the food business, while clothing and homewares sales and profit remained below levels from two years ago.

By Grace Kim

What did the cyber-attack actually cost M&S?

The attack, which started over Easter 2025, forced M&S to shut its website — which sells clothing and homewares — for more than six weeks. That was the visible damage. The invisible damage lasted far longer.

M&S said clothing and homewares "availability was constrained due to the longer than expected impact of manual ordering processes following the incident, while profitability was diluted by an increased mix of online sales which have higher fulfilment costs".

In plain terms: buyers had to calculate demand and place supplier orders without their usual technology and data. The result was gaps on shelves.

CEO Stuart Machin said manual ordering left some clothing categories short of everyday basics over the summer. A "long hot summer" compounded the problem by pushing more shoppers online, where fulfilment costs run higher and margins run thinner.

Machin did not sugar-coat the numbers. "We are broadening our appeal and the brand is in good health, but the results fell short of their potential and show there is a lot more to do," he said.

Is the disruption over now?

Machin said the cyber-attack's impact "lasted longer than we expected" — then added: "That's now behind us."

The company confirmed the availability problems are resolved, and it said it took a bigger share of a declining clothing market despite them. It also cautioned that "market conditions remain challenging".

Clothing, beauty and homewares sales rose 17.5% to almost £2bn for the half year, though that comparison flatters the result: the year-earlier period was itself hit by the hack.

M&S expects second-half performance to improve, saying recovered availability is "creating a better balance between core and seasonal stock".

What carried the numbers?

Food. Sales in the division climbed almost 14% to £5.2bn as M&S opened seven new stores and expanded or refurbished others.

The company said it is gaining share on frequently bought items — meat, dairy and fresh produce — after investing £50m in holding down prices and improving quality.

The Ocado joint venture also turned around, swinging to a half-year profit of £25.6m from a £3.1m loss a year before, as sales rose 16% and delivery efficiency improved.

Where does the money go next?

M&S expects to cut £120m in costs this year across technology, logistics and stores. Those savings will partly offset new expenses, including £35m tied to a new packaging levy.

The arithmetic is straightforward: food and Ocado are delivering the growth, clothing is repaired but not yet restored to pre-attack strength, and cost cuts of £120m are doing the heavy lifting against rising levies and a tough clothing market.