Marks and Spencer鈥檚 (M&S) website is back up and running amid the firm鈥檚 ongoing cyber crisis, which the retail giant has estimated will hit its profits by approximately 拢300m.听
The London-based firm鈥檚 online site had been unavailable for customers looking to make orders for the past few weeks and it went down entirely on the evening of the 21st May.听
The company had been making updates and the website was back online at 07.00 on the 22nd May.听
The news is just the latest in a string of events that have occurred in the last few weeks for M&S.听
On the 21st May, it announced its full year results, with the company鈥檚 profit before tax and adjusting items up 22.2 per cent at 拢875.5m for 2024/25 – its highest in over 15 years.听
However, it also admitted that the 鈥榟ighly sophisticated cyber incident鈥� that the firm is dealing with is estimated to impact group operating profit by around 拢300m for 2025/26.
It did, though, say that this will be reduced through management of costs, insurance and other trading actions.听
It is expected that costs directly relating to the incident will be presented separately as an adjusting item.
M&S has said its strategy remains the same and there is no change to its longer-term plans to reshape M&S for growth.
The firm first reported that it was dealing with a cyber attack in mid-April and, just a week later, fellow retail giant The Co-operative Group was also affected.
Around the same time, M&S told hundreds of agency workers to stay at home as the firm dealt with the attack.听
According to CEO Stuart Machin, though, it is time for the company to 鈥榙raw a line and move on鈥�.听
鈥淭hree years ago, we introduced our Reshaping M&S for Growth plan with the objective of protecting the magic of M&S and modernising the rest. Executing that strategy has delivered a third consecutive year of growth in sales and market share, profit and improving return on capital,鈥� said Machin on the company鈥檚 full year results.
鈥淒isciplined capital allocation and a much stronger balance sheet have put M&S on a robust financial footing, increasing resilience and creating capacity for future growth. M&S has net funds of over 拢400m and we are in our best financial health for nearly 30 years.
鈥淥ur food business had another strong year as more customers chose to fill their trolleys with M&S food, more often. Our continuous investment in quality, value and innovation is paying off.听聽
鈥淲e’ve outperformed the market over the past three years and I’m confident we will continue the momentum and grow a bigger, fresher food business.
鈥淥verall, last year was another year of strong performance, and there are so many opportunities still ahead of us. As outlined at last year’s Capital Markets Day, we will continue our plan to invest in our key growth areas: Store rotation, supply chain and technology.
鈥淲e started the new financial year as we finished the last, with sales growth ahead of budget across both businesses. Over the last few weeks, we have been managing a highly sophisticated and targeted cyber-attack, which has led to a limited period of disruption.
鈥淲e have tackled this head on with incredible spirit, teamwork and a deep sense of responsibility as we prioritised serving our customers.
鈥淚t has been challenging, but it is a moment in time, and we are now focused on recovery, with the aim of exiting this period a much stronger business.听
鈥淭here is no change to our strategy and our longer-term plans to reshape M&S for growth and, if anything, the incident allows us to accelerate the pace of change as we draw a line and move on.
鈥淥ver the last 140 years, M&S has overcome many challenges – testament to the longevity of this brand. This incident is a bump in the road, and we will come out of this in better shape, and continue our plan to reshape M&S for customers, colleagues and shareholders.
鈥淚 would like to thank all of our colleagues and supplier partners for their hard work and dedication and, importantly, thank our customers. They have been unwavering in their support, and we are incredibly grateful for their patience and trust in M&S.鈥�