M&S profits halved after cyber-attack

M&S's profits were almost wiped out after it was hit by a cyber-attack which left shoppers unable to buy online from the company for months.

The hack was "an extraordinary moment in time," it said, as it revealed statutory profit before tax - a figure that reflects all costs for a period - slumped 99% from £391.9m to £3.4m for the first half of the year, compared with the year prior.

As well as disrupting its online business, the hack affected M&S in-store too, leaving some shelves bare in the weeks after it was targeted.

M&S's boss said profits should recover in the key Christmas period, but warned a later Budget and chancellor's speech on Tuesday had not inspired confidence in UK shoppers.

"The presentation may have calmed the bonds markets, but it hasn't really calmed our customers," chief executive Stuart Manchin said.

"They [customers] might be planning for a good Christmas, but they're also planning for the worst when it comes to the budget," he added.

Expectations have grown that taxes will be hiked in the Budget on 26 November after Reeves refused to rule out a U-turn on Labour's general election manifesto pledge not to hike income tax, VAT or National Insurance.

Mr Manchin questioned why the government was holding a Budget so late in the year. "We're all sitting here," he said.