Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The retailer reported GBX 23.80 earnings per share for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. The business had revenue of GBX 1,727.36 billion during the quarter. Marks and Spencer Group had a net margin of 0.13% and a return on equity of 0.69%.

Here are the key takeaways from Marks and Spencer Group’s conference call:

• M&S said it is entering a new phase of “reinvesting for growth,” with capital spending set at GBP 650 million to GBP 750 million this year across stores, supply chain, and digital/technology.
• Food was the standout performer, with sales up 7% and market share rising to a record 4.1% (or 4.6% including Ocado), while management said the business has the potential to double sales over time.
• Fashion, home and beauty had a difficult year, with sales down 7.7% and operating margin falling to 5.5% from 11.3%, though management said performance improved in the fourth quarter as availability recovered.
• The company highlighted strong progress on cost control, saying its structural cost-out program has delivered about GBP 390 million of savings so far and remains on track to reach GBP 600 million by FY2028.
• Adjusted profit before tax fell to GBP 671.4 million and free cash flow from operations was GBP 131 million, with the cyber incident still weighing on the year, although M&S ended with a net funds position excluding lease liabilities and said profits grew in the second half.

Marks and Spencer Group Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of MKS opened at GBX 342.10 on Wednesday. Marks and Spencer Group has a 12 month low of GBX 301.10 and a 12 month high of GBX 411.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is GBX 342.90 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 352.97. The stock has a market capitalization of £6.93 billion, a PE ratio of 380.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 121.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MKS shares. Shore Capital Group reaffirmed a “house stock” rating on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Marks and Spencer Group to GBX 430 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 425 price objective on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 440 price objective on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 415.

About Marks and Spencer Group

M&S has a heritage of quality, innovation and value for money and has been voted the UK’s most trusted brand. From these foundations, M&S is reshaping for sustainable profitable growth and value creation.

We operate as a family of businesses, selling high-quality, great-value, own-brand products and services, alongside a carefully selected range of third-party brands. We do this through a network of stores and websites globally, and together, across our stores, support centres, warehouses and supply chain, our 65,000 colleagues serve over 30 million customers each year.