The latest trading update from Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS), released on Thursday, painted a familiar picture: solid progress in food doing the heavy lifting, while clothing remains the swing factor.
According to Deutsche Bank, the key takeaway is that full-year profit guidance has been held, despite third-quarter sales coming in a little softer than hoped.
That outcome rests largely on better margins in Food, where higher gross profit more than compensated for weaker performance in Clothing.
Food like-for-like sales rose 5.6% in the quarter, slightly below expectations, but volumes increased 2.3% and total sales climbed 6.6%. Crucially, M&S continued to gain share, reaching around 4% of the UK grocery market.
For a business that only recently re-established credibility in food, that steady progress matters more than small quarterly variances.
Clothing was the disappointment. Like-for-like sales fell 2.9%, missing forecasts by some distance. Deutsche Bank notes, however, that investor expectations had already softened, reflecting a tougher apparel backdrop and more promotional competition.
Elsewhere, there were steadier signals. International sales returned to growth, while the Ocado Retail joint venture delivered another quarter of strong double-digit growth.
Overall, the update reinforces the idea that M&S is becoming a more balanced business.
Food is now a dependable earnings engine. Clothing still needs to prove it can deliver consistently, but margins, not just sales, are giving management room to manoeuvre.
In afternoon trading, the shares were up 3.5% at 355.64p.