M&S declares 1.4p interim dividend, up from 1.2p, payable in January

Marks and Spencer has declared an interim dividend of 1.4p a share, up from 1.2p a year earlier, with the cash due to reach shareholders on 8 January 2027.

Investors on the share register at close of business on 27 November 2026 qualify, and the shares trade without the dividend from 26 November.

The retailer said it declared the payout alongside its half-year results on Wednesday.

Last year’s interim dividend of 1.2p was paid on 9 January 2026, and the interim before that, 1.0p, was paid on 10 January 2025.

The latest interim payment is therefore 0.2p a share higher than a year ago and 0.4p higher than two years ago.

M&S described its 2025/26 financial year as “an extraordinary year”, in which it said it had worked hard to recover its business after a cyber incident.

In the 52 weeks to 28 March 2026, group adjusted profit before tax fell 23.8% to £671.4m from £881.1m the year before.

Profit in the second half of that year rose 4.1% on the previous year, as growth in Food more than offset the decline in Fashion, Home & Beauty.

Costs directly related to the cyber incident came to £131.3m, while M&S recorded £100.0m of insurance proceeds in respect of it within adjusted profit.

Statutory profit before tax fell 28.8% to £364.6m, compared with £511.8m in 2024/25, after adjusting items of £292.1m.

The full-year dividend for 2025/26 rose 16.7% to 4.2p from 3.6p, including a final payment of 3.0p that was paid on 10 July 2026.

Cash dividends paid to shareholders in that year totalled £77.0m, compared with £60.5m in 2024/25.

Food sales rose 7.0% to £9.7bn, while Fashion, Home & Beauty sales fell 7.7% to £3.9bn as online trading was paused after the incident.

M&S ended the year with net funds excluding lease liabilities of £338.2m, down from £447.6m, after what it called a strong balance sheet position.

The company plans capital expenditure of about £650m to £750m in 2026/27, with roughly two-thirds aimed at the long-term growth opportunity in Food.

It said profit growth is expected to resume against 2024/25, and that 2026/27 will be a 53-week year ending on 3 April 2027.

Shareholders can take the interim dividend in cash by bank transfer or reinvest it in shares through a plan run by the registrar, Equiniti, with a last election date of 15 December 2026.