anything under 7 cheap cheap cheap. good div. just paid. chart looks sick

Followers of the retail sector should keep their eyes open on Tuesday, as we get a fourth quarter update from Marks & Spencer ahead of full-year results a month later. There's a modest fall in earnings for the year currently expected, but forecasts for the following two years are stronger, with both earnings and dividends tipped to head in the right direction.

The shares have recovered something of late, climbing quite nicely from the start of the year, though they have fallen back a little in recent weeks. But even after the recent appreciation, a well covered dividend of around 4.5% is still expected for this year, so that fourth quarter will be well worth a closer look.

Tuesday April 17 =

Marks & Spencer is set to post an improvement in fourth-quarter sales, spurring hopes that the worst of the conditions on the high street might be coming to an end.

Britain's biggest clothing retailer is expected to report that like-for-like sales of what it calls general merchandise non-food products, including its all-important womenswear has increased by 0.2pc, according to a poll of 10 analysts.

Sales of food are expected to slow down from the 3pc rise in the third quarter, which benefited from Christmas spending, to about 1.6pc

Q4 Trading Statement.

'Continued progress in a challenging market'

· Group sales +0.8%
· Total UK sales +1.2%: Food +3.1%; GM -1.2% (Clothing -0.3%, Home -7.5%)
· Like for like UK sales -0.7%: Food +1.0%; GM -2.8%
· Direct sales +22.8%
· International sales -2.0%

..Marks & Spencer Runs Out Of Clothes!

.Symbol Price Change
MKS.L 358.70 -9.00

......
Sales at Marks & Spencer fell short of fourth-quarter expectations, but for an unusual reason -- too many people wanted to buy the group's clothes. Or rather, problems with supplies meant that the demand for some lines could not be satisfied.

Britain's largest clothing retailer, it seems, could have shifted three times the 100,000 cardigans and jumpers it sold from its most popular lines during the quarter, but failed to buy in enough stock. The problem, so M&S said this morning, was temporary, and full-year sales targets should still be hit.

But it did mean that like-for-like sales in the clothing and homeware departments were down by almost 3%, though a 1% rise in food sales saved the day a little and brought overall like-for-like sales back to a small fall of 0.7%. Taking into account new openings, overall group sales advanced by 0.8%.

And echoing the growing influence of online markets, sales at M&S Direct grew strongly, by 23%.

But the real question is how well is M&S doing against its plan to revamp the business?

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/marks-spencer-suffering-lack-confidence-162209272.html

..M&S finance arm faces £52m PPI bill

By James Quinn | Telegraph – 1 hour 24 minutes ago

Marks & Spencer’s banking arm is facing a £52m bill as a result of potential mis-selling of payment protection insurance to its customers.

Marks & Spencer Financial Services, which is owned by HSBC (LSE: HSBA.L - news) but in which the retailer has a financial interest, has set aside the money as a result of its own assessment of likely claims.

The banking unit has however admitted that there is a “high degree of uncertainty as to the eventual cost” of compensating angered customers.

The accounts, recently filed at Companies House, show the business made profit before tax of £76.3m in 2011 against £74.8m in the prior year. But it did not stop dividends of £60m from being paid in the year to its two shareholders - the retailer and the bank - up from £40m in 2010.

HSBC bought the business in 2004, but M&S (LSE: MKS.L - news) still receives 50pc of earnings.

..

There will be news from the high street in the form of final results from Marks & Spencer on Tuesday, and what long-term investors will be looking for is news of its store revamp and refitting operation. Last month's Q4 update looked "steady as she goes" more than anything, and full-year results are expected to be modest. But the new store format came in for favourable comment, and the planned roll-out completion for mid-2013 is still on. At 343p, the shares are on a P/E of just over 10, with a well-covered 5% dividend forecast

The days when Marks & Spencer made £1bn of profit in a single year are long gone. City forecasts suggest that a combination of terrible high-street conditions and a steady rise in costs will see its annual profits fall from £714m to £694m.

Marc Bolland, the Dutch chief executive, is expected to update shareholders on plans to spruce up its stores, as those with clearer signs and branding have been a modest success.

However, he is expected to warn his ambition to hit annual sales of £11.5bn within three years isn’t achievable. M&S (LSE: MKS.L - news) is likely to reports sales of just shy of £10bn, and analysts forecast a maintained 17p-per-share dividend.

Final results:

• Group sales up 2.0% at £9.9bn

• Total UK sales +1.5%: Food +3.9%; General Merchandise -0.9% (Clothing +0.2%, Home -10.0%)

• Like-for-like UK sales +0.3%: Food +2.1%; General Merchandise -1.8%;

• International sales +5.8%

• Multi-channel sales +18%

• Underlying profit before tax1 £705.9m (last year £714.3m)

• Underlying basic earnings per share1 34.9p (last year 34.8p)

• Full year dividend 17.0p per share (last year 17.0p)

• Net debt £1.86bn (last year £1.90bn)

Statutory results:

• Profit before tax £658.0m (last year £780.6m)

• Basic earnings per share 32.5p (last year 38.8p)




http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4373677

Marks and Spencer to launch bank

High Street retailer Marks and Spencer has said it will launch an in-store banking service this summer, backed by HSBC.

The first branch is set to open in July at the chain's flagship store at Marble Arch in London.

It then plans to open 50 more branches in M&S stores over the next two years, creating 500 jobs.

M&S said it would start offering a current account from autumn 2012, with mortgages available "at a later date".

..Top M&S Executive Defects To High Street Rival

– 27 minutes ago Marks & Spencer has been dealt a blow after its head of menswear quit the firm to become managing director of Sir Philip Green's Bhs department store chain.

In a statement confirming Richard Price's departure, Marks & Spencer said it understood why he wanted to work for the retail billionaire - who has twice tried and failed to buy rival M&S

"Richard is a talented individual and he has done a great job in menswear," an M&S spokeswoman said.

"His new role as managing director presents a unique and challenging opportunity to take on a wider role including all trading departments as well as stores, e-commerce and property."

The M&S Friday share price dropped more than 3%, down to 326p, on news of the departure to Bhs.

Mr Price's exit from M&S follows several other significant brain drain departures this year, including Andrew Skinner, who was a senior general merchandise director, Susan Aubrey-Cound, who was director of new channels, and Alison Jones, who was a brand director.

Last month M&S posted a 1% fall in profits and slashed its sales growth target.

M&S is due to update on its first quarter trading on July 10, when it also holds its annual general meeting.

..

Marks & Spencer (Dusseldorf: MA6.DU - news) endured a difficult session as the blue-chip index fell for a second day in a row.

M&S (LSE: MKS.L - news) came under pressure as several brokers published bearish notes on the retail giant. Macquarie cut its price target to 300p and Exane BNP Paribas started coverage of the British retailer with an "underperform" rating and 290p target price.

Exane argued that M&S shouldn't be trading at a premium to its peers given targets have been cut, capital expenditure trimmed and profits have stalled.

In a note on the European retail sector, analysts at Exane said: "Over the next decade the retail sector will face profound challenges."

The broker added: "Retailers will have to grapple with a new phase of rising online penetration, diminishing store returns, weak macroeconomic conditions, rising input costs and aggressive low cost entrants. Apparel is attractive within retail but it pays to be selective."

Sentiment was also hit by news that M&S's head of menswear, Richard Price, had quit to join BHS, M&S closed down 10½ at 326.8p,

Friday 13th July AGM

Has M&S lost its mojo? =

Pressure is mounting on Marc Bolland, the super-smooth Dutch man who joined Marks and Spencer as its chief executive two years ago. At his first annual general meeting he was able to stand up in front of the assembled crowd of shareholders and report sales growth in its non-food division of 6pc. This time around, he is expected to say that sales in its general merchandise business -- which contains its critical clothing department - fell between 7pc and 8pc. That will be its worst performance for about a decade.

Questions will immediately be asked whether this is all down to the terrible weather, or is it because M&S has lost its mojo. It has undoubtedly been tough for all clothing retailers, especially those that concentrate on womenswear. The wettest April and then the wettest June on record has meant that many shoppers just haven’t visited the high street, and those that have aren’t exactly in the mood to buy summer fashion. But Debenhams and John Lewis have both been able to post remarkably good sales figures.

The worry is that M&S has got things badly wrong.

Marks & Spencer is expected to unveil its weakest quarterly trading figures for three years at its annual meeting on Tuesday, amid renewed speculation that Kate Bostock, its executive director of general merchandise, could be on the way out. The retailer's underlying UK sales are forecast to fall by 6.7 per cent in its first quarter

Up 1.7% today ahead of a widely predicted weak trading statement tomorrow.

Another notable climber was troubled retailer Marks & Spencer , which climbed 3 to 321p, ahead of first-quarter sales figures that are expected to heap pressure on chief executive Marc Bolland.

Jean Roche, analyst at Panmure, maintained her “hold” recommendation on the stock. However, she added: “Although the shares are trading at a significant discount to their historical average valuation, we continue to rate them 'hold’ as we wait for staff moves to settle down and for signs that weakness in general merchandise (for example loss of clothing market share) has been arrested. We prefer to recommend buying shares in Next (Xetra: 779551 - news) instead, and in the mid cap space, N Brown, ASOS (Other OTC: ASOMF.PK - news) or Dunelm

1st Quarter Results

· Group sales -0.7% *

· Total UK sales -0.9%:Food +2.9%; GM -5.1%

· Like for like UK sales -2.8%:Food +0.6%; GM -6.8%

· Multi-channel sales +14.9%

· International sales +0.9% *

..Marks & Spencer all at sea as Kate Bostock is shoved overboard

By Harry Wallop | Telegraph – 8 hours ago

What do you do when you are captain of the ship and you are heading for the rocks? Push a man overboard and hope the hullabaloo distracts all the passengers from the crunching sound when the ship runs aground.

Marc Bolland, under increasing pressure for the poor performance of Marks & Spencer's clothing business, has persuaded Kate Bostock, head of general merchandise, to leave the business.

M&S (LSE: MKS.L - news) says it is "by mutual consent", but Bostock has no other job to go to. She has spent much of the past two years trying to use the pages of a certain newspaper to bid up her salary. Monthly rumours would be printed that she was off to Asos.com, that she was off to New Look, that she was very unhappy. Ever since she missed out on the top job to Mr Bolland two years ago she has struggled to be enthusiastic at all the company's public meetings.

All of this served to highlight how she was failing to crack the most difficult nut of them all: return M&S to the days when nearly every woman in the country had some of its clothes not just in their wardbrobes, but also in their affections.

Will her departure be enough to turn the business around?

Let's be clear - these first-quarter figures are terrible. Yes, both April and June were the wettest respective April and June on record. This has certainly put consumers off buying swimsuits, summer blouses and flip flops, as well as deterring them from visiting the hight street. And M&S is heavily exposed, compared with many of its rivals, to womenswear and to the high street.

But a fall of 6.8pc in general merchandise is the worst since Christmas 2008, and considerably worse than overall trading, as suggested in this morning's British Retail Consortium's figures. The BRC said that non-food sales had increased by 0.1pc over the same three-month period.

Womenswear is just not up to scratch. So, too, many of the stores, far away from head office, where they are still very difficult to find your away around.

It is to some credit to Ms Bostock that M&S feels the need to replace her with two individuals. John Dixon, the head of food, is widely seen as a "safe pair of hands" who has helped steer the food offer ever more upmarket and pioneer the hugely successful Dine-in-for-£10. Belinda Earl has a mixed retailing record - great success at Debenhams (LSE: DEB.L - news) , less so at Jaeger, which nearly collapsed earlier this year, though a few months after Ms Earl had left.

One thing is for sure: this management shake-up distracts some people from talking about the more difficult business of returning M&S's womenswear to its glory years.

..M&S boss begs for more time to win womenswear war

Telegraph – 33 minutes ago
Time is running out for Marks & Spencer (Dusseldorf: MA6.DU - news) chief executive, Marc Bolland, who has pleaded to shareholders for one more year to turn around the retailer's underperforming clothing division.

At the AGM, held last Tuesday, Bolland announced seismic, strategic changes to the business - the stalwart of the high street - to try and rescue falling sales and keep himself in a job.

He begged disgruntled shareholders for one more year to see his plans come to fruition, following "very disappointing" sales in the clothing and homewares operations. The company announced that clothing revenues slumped by nearly seven per cent in the first three months of the year.

Bolland, who pocketed a £4.3m package this year, revealed a surprise management reshuffle that included the promotion of Steve Rowe from retail director to take responsibility for the food division. He replaces John Dixon, who is tipped as Bolland's successor, and will take on the crucial clothing and home department. He has also drafted in Belinda Earl, formerly chief executive at Debenhams (LSE: DEB.L - news) and then Jaeger, for two to three days a week from September as M&S (LSE: MKS.L - news) 's style director. In addition, long-time clothing executive Kate Bostock has left the business.

His strategy is underpinned by three themes - increasing internet sales, boosting overseas presence and making the utilitarian-looking stores more attractive.

He has opened stores in Paris after a decade's absence from the French market, and recruited Tesco (LSE: TSCO.L - news) 's internet guru, Laura Wade-Gery, to improve online sales.

Doubters wonder whether such plans will be the stitch in time to save Bolland after clothing sales fell nearly 7pc in the first three months of the year and City analysts have trimmed forecasts. Most now believe profits will slip this year to below £700m.

Marks & Spencer's share price closed at 316.4p on Friday, down 3pc from 327.8pc on the day of the AGM.

..

Bankers at a number of London institutions are looking at Marks & Spencer as a potential £6bn bid target as the retailer’s shares have slipped almost 50% since their highs. Bankers at a number of London institutions are looking at Marks & Spencer as a potential £6bn bid target as the retailer’s shares have slipped almost 50% since highs in late 2007. The Sunday Telegraph understands that bankers at institutions thought to include Bank of America Merrill Lynch have in recent weeks assessed the possibility of providing debt finance for a speculative bid. Although it is understood neither bank has been mandated to pursue a specific course of action, the fact that they are looking at the retailer indicates the company’s predicament. Marc Bolland, M&S’s chief executive, has been criticised amid falling sales, particularly in women’s wear, and problems in the company’s supply chain.