SHARE OF THE WEEK: Marks & Spencer to reveal full-year results

SHARE OF THE WEEK: Retail loyalist Marks & Spencer will get a glimpse of what life in the High Street is like when it publishes annual results

Marks & Spencer will get a glimpse of what life in the High Street is like when it publishes its results next week.

The loyal retailer will present the full annual figures for the year to April 2 on Wednesday.

Investors will be eager to see how the company fares amid cost-of-living pressures.

At its half-year results in November, M&S delivered news of a drop in earnings alongside a gloomy warning of a “storm ahead” of rising input costs and pressure on household budgets.

But analysts hope the retailer will be able to brave the gloom and cash in on customers switching from more expensive brands.

The retailer’s share price is up 19 percent over the past year.

While shareholders are hoping for upbeat updates on M&S’s food and apparel divisions, they may be feeling more apprehensive about what will be said about the joint venture with Ocado.

The online grocer and technology company reported a loss of £500.8 million for 2022 earlier this year as customers added fewer items to their baskets due to the rising cost of living.

Despite Ocado’s struggles, said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, M&S in other business sectors has “recovered and polished itself from falling sales, with a notable turnaround for clothing and home goods.”

The average M&S shopper was also less likely to be daunted by the cost of living, while stores were in the right places to see the jingling cash registers, analysts believe.

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