//
Operating profit at the company dropped from £1,089.3 million to £768.9 million in the 12 months to March 28th, something that may be of interest to those involved in stock market trading.
Sales in the UK fell by 5.9 per cent over the period, however the overall figure increased 0.4 per cent due to the firm's strong overseas performance.
M&S cut its dividend by 33.1 per cent as a result of the profit drop, with the figure declining to 9.5p per share.
Chairman of the business Sir Stuart Rose explained that measures have been put in place to combat the effects of the economic downturn.
"We sharpened our values without compromising on quality," he stated, adding that the company is still "cautious" about the present financial year due to the "uncertain economic outlook".
M&S shares slid on the news, dropping 21.75p to 317.5p at 10:45 BST.








