Marks & Spencer (M&S) has seen its pre-tax profit increase by 17.2% to £408m, beating expectations in the first half of its financial year.

The retail firm’s sales also jumped by 5.8% year-on-year in the six months to 28 September to £6.5bn.

In this time, revenue jumped by 5.7% to £6.4bn and its operating profit increased by 12.7% year-on-year to £462.7m.

The figures come as M&S’s food and clothing divisions both recorded four consecutive years of market share growth, with sales increasing by 8.1% and 4.7%, respectively.

Chief executive at M&S, Stuart Machin, said that the execution of its ‘Reshape M&S for Growth’ has "again delivered an increase in customers, sales value and volume, market share, profit and returns".

Machin stated: "The business remains in robust financial health. We have improved our return on capital employed to 15% and further strengthened our balance sheet, giving us the capacity and flexibility to invest for growth and deliver structural cost reduction, demonstrating our ability to deliver value for shareholders.

"The recent Budget's long-term impact on M&S, our suppliers, and our customers is for now uncertain. Meanwhile, we are confident and we remain on track and focused on what is in our control. We have the best Christmas food range I've seen in my time at M&S and the most stylish seasonal clothing offer yet, and we know customers are looking forward to celebrating Christmas with M&S."

Looking ahead, M&S said that cost inflation has continued to be elevated, running ahead of price inflation, resulting in an "uncertain" consumer environment.

It added that "despite this, the business has traded well growing volume and value market share".

Going into the second half of the year, M&S "expects this backdrop to persist".

However, it stated that in the first five weeks of the second half, overall trading "remains on track" and it is "confident" of making further progress in the remainder of the year.

Equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Aarin Chiekrie, concluded: "Credit where it’s due, M&S has done a great job breathing new life into the business over the past couple of years. Operational and strategic improvements mean the business is healthier than it has been in some time.

"Debt levels are moving in the right direction, and there’s plenty of cash being generated to help fund the group’s store rotation plan, which focuses on opening new locations in high-growth areas. There’s even cash left over to support recently reinstated dividend payments, which means M&S could once again appeal to income-focused investors."

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