About 4.87M shares traded hands or 7.03% up from the average.
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Investors will be particularly pleased that the company has decided on the basis of the results so far – and on an increase in its full year profit guidance – to up its interim dividend by 6.3 per cent to 6.8p per share.
As fashion sales have sagged, speculation has grown that chief executive Marc Bolland’s days at M&S could be numbered.
Bolland has faced criticism for seemingly allowing the clothing business to drift while managing to maintain shoppers’ appetite for the chain’s upmarket food ranges. Just a week later clothing boss John Dixon revealed he was leaving, and there have been other departures that will also put GM, specifically womenswear, under huge pressure at a time when it is already under the microscope.
Marks & Spencer noted that the market conditions continue to be challenging in both the United Kingdom and the global markets despite a few improvement in consumer confidence.
British retailer Marks & Spencer showed that efforts to boost profitability in its troubled clothing business are starting to pay off even though sales fell again in the latest quarter.
“The Christmas/New Year period will, as usual, be crucial to whether these goals are achieved”.
M&S food is overall outperforming Britain’s overall grocery industry, as customers increasingly turn to the store for special occasion food.
Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The largest challenge remains in the form of sales within general merchandise, where M&S is focusing on margin improvements by eschewing discounts and concentrating on full price sales”.
“Valuation does not reflect self-help opportunities or cash generation”.
“Elsewhere, global sales have dipped once more against currency headwinds, whilst the accompanying outlook comments are fairly sombre”, he said.
The company’s share price rallied 3.17 per cent to stand at 537 pence in midday deals on London’s rising stock market.
The company’s M&S Bank faced charges of £27.5mln related to provisions for insurance mis-selling, while costs of closing and revamping stores weighed.
The company opened 32 new Simply Food branches during the six months, helping to grow food sales by 3.3pc while its push to focus on “meals for tonight” helped lift like-for-like sales by 0.2pc.
But customers voted with their feet, with sales in this area falling 1.2% – including a 1.9% drop over the summer – flattered by a jump in online sales.
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Adverse movements in the euro exchange rate took their toll on the group’s self-operated worldwide arm.
