Marks & Spencer profit climbs, to test new store formats

British retailer Marks & Spencer plans to test new store formats more tailored to their localities, it said on Tuesday, as it posted a 13 per cent rise in annual profit, broadly in line with expectations. Britain's biggest clothing retailer, which also sells upmarket foods and homewares, said it would start testing the new formats from October, as part of a series of initiatives aimed at countering difficult trading conditions.

"We have had a good start to the new financial year but we expect trading conditions in the year ahead to be challenging due to rising pressure on consumers' disposable incomes and high commodity prices," it said.

Marks & Spencer (M&S) said it made profit before tax and one-off items of £714.3 million in the year ended April 2, just ahead of analysts' average forecast of 710m in a company poll.