British retailer Marks & Spencer has reported an expected 40% slide in full-year profit and cut its final dividend by a third to conserve cash.
Executive chairman Stuart Rose said the company remained cautious about the outlook for the rest of the year.
The 125-year-old group, which is the UK's biggest clothing retailer, said it made an underlying pre-tax profit of £604.4m for the year to March 28. This was down from £1 billion a year earlier. Sales were up 0.4% at £9.1 billion.
The dividend cut is seen as embarrassing for Rose, who just 12 months ago raised the total dividend pay-out by 23%. The cut will pile more pressure on Rose, who was already under fire from investors for combining the jobs of chairman and chief executive against corporate governance best practice.
