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LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - British retailer Marks & Spencer posted a 3.9 percent fall in annual profit, a thirdstraight decline, with three years of heavy investment yet torevive its underperforming non-food business.
Britain's biggest clothing retailer, which also sellshomewares and upmarket food, said on Tuesday it made a profitbefore tax and one-off items of 623 million pounds ($1.05billion) in the year to March 29.
That compares with analyst forecasts of 600-630 millionpounds, with a consensus of 615 million pounds, and 665.2million pounds made in 2012-13.
For the first time the profit outcome is below the annualprofit made by faster growing rival Next.
M&S did, however, propose a maintained dividend of 17 pence.($1 = 0.5943 British Pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Paul Sandle)
