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LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - British retailer Marks & Spencer posted its first rise in annual profit in four years andsaid it would return excess cash to shareholders, fuelling hopesthat it has finally rediscovered a successful formula.
Britain's biggest clothing retailer, which also sellshomewares and upmarket food, said on Wednesday it made a profitbefore tax and one-off items of 661.2 million pounds ($1.02billion) in the year to March 28.
That compares with analyst forecasts of 625-664 millionpounds, with a consensus of 648 million pounds, and is 6.1percent higher than the 623 million pounds made in 2013-14.
M&S raised its dividend 5.9 percent to 18 pence andannounced a share buyback programme of 150 million pounds for2015-16.
($1 = 0.6453 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton)
