More than a year after cyber-attack, M&S profits bounce back to £355m but clothing sales still lag

British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has said a devastating cyber-attack that shut down its website last year continued to hurt its clothing sales over the summer, more than a year after the hack.

The retailer said profits bounced back to £355m in the six months to 26 September, from only £3.4m a year before, as it partly recovered from the hack.

The attack, which began over Easter 2025, forced M&S to shut its website, which sells clothing and homewares, for more than six weeks.

Total sales over the half year across the food-to-fashion group rose 16.2% to £9.2bn.

However, M&S said sales and profit from its clothing and homewares arm remained below two years ago. Availability was constrained due to the longer-than-expected impact of manual ordering processes following the incident, the company said, while profitability was diluted by an increased mix of online sales, which have higher fulfilment costs.

The retailer has previously explained that its team of buyers had to calculate demand and make orders to suppliers without the help of their usual technology and detailed information last year.

Chief executive Stuart Machin said: '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.'

The company said it had been able to take a bigger share of a declining clothing market despite the availability problems, which were now resolved, but that market conditions remained challenging. Clothing, beauty and homewares sales rose 17.5% to almost £2bn in the half year compared with the same period last year, which was affected by the hack.

Performance is expected to improve in the second half, M&S said, as availability has now recovered, creating a better balance between core and seasonal stock.

M&S's food business increased sales by almost 14% to £5.2bn in the half year, as it opened seven new stores and expanded or refurbished others. The retailer said it was gaining share on everyday items such as meat, dairy and fresh produce after investing £50m in keeping prices down and improving quality.

The group's Ocado joint venture also swung to a half-year profit of £25.6m, from a loss of £3.1m a year before, as sales rose 16% and it improved the efficiency of its deliveries.

M&S said it expected to cut £120m in costs this year across technology, logistics and stores. It said this would partly offset new costs, including £35m related to a new packaging levy.