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* Q4 UK like-for-like non-food sales down 3.8 pct
* Analysts had forecast drop of between 4 and 6 pct
* UK like-for-like food sales up 4.0 pct
* FD says firm has backing of major shareholders
* Shares up 3.2 pct
By James Davey
LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - British retailer Marks &Spencer posted a seventh straight quarterly fall inunderlying sales of clothing and homewares, having to rely on astrong performance from its food business to deliver overallgrowth.
Marc Bolland, chief executive of the 129-year-old retailerthat has recently been the subject of takeover speculation, isunder pressure from shareholders to revive its clothingoperations.
He has said that a new general merchandise management teamled by John Dixon, the former boss of M&S's food business, andBelinda Earl, the former chief of Debenhams and Jaeger,will not make a major impact on sales until autumn/wintercollections hit the shops in July.
An important early test will be the reaction of the fashionpress when they see the ranges on May 14, a week before M&Sreports 2012-13 results, with analysts forecasting a 7 percentfall in pretax profit to 659 million pounds ($1 billion).
Trevor Green, head of institutional equities at AvivaInvestors, an M&S shareholder, said he wants M&S to present aclear strategy for womenswear when it reports results.
"If not, then patience will start to wear thin withshareholders as Bolland has already been given three years toturn the general merchandise side around," he said on Thursday.
Aviva Investors holds 0.1 percent of M&S, according toThomson Reuters Eikon data.
M&S finance director Alan Stewart said the company had thebacking of its major investors.
"What we're hearing directly from shareholders is that theyare supportive of our strategy ... and that they recognise it'sgoing to take time," he told reporters.
Shares in M&S rose 3.2 percent after it said sales ofnon-food products, spanning clothing, footwear and homewares, atstores open more than a year fell 3.8 percent in the 13 weeks toMarch 30, its financial fourth quarter.
That was slightly better than analysts' forecasts of a dropof between 4 and 6 percent, but matched the fall of the previousquarter when M&S moved to protect profit margins by offeringfewer discounts.
"People had got themselves into a very gloomy frame of mindabout M&S ahead of this statement, so any non-disastrous newswas probably always going to make the shares bounce," one of theten largest M&S shareholders said.
Last month was the coldest March in Britain since 1962,hurting demand for summer clothes and shoes, according to anindustry survey published on Tuesday.
"We held our full price stance for most of the (fourth)quarter but trading conditions became difficult in March and themarket became more promotional. Therefore we responded withselected tactical offers," said Bolland.
M&S's like-for-like food sales rose 4.0 percent, ahead ofthe overall market, analyst forecasts of an increase of 1.9 to3.5 percent and a third-quarter rise of 0.3 percent.
The food division, which had a record Easter week, benefitedfrom products such as Belgian chocolate mini hot cross buns, ofwhich it sold more than 600,000 packs, and from M&S beinguntainted by a horsemeat scandal that hurt rivals.
JUDGEMENT DAY
M&S, which serves 21 million customers a week from over 700British stores, said total UK like-for-like sales rose 0.6percent, having fallen 1.8 percent in the previous quarter.
Analysts said the numbers had bought some time for Bolland,who dismissed speculation regarding his own position, saying:"I'm thoroughly enjoying the challenge."
Many UK retailers are finding the going tough as consumers,whose spending generates about two-thirds of UK gross domesticproduct, fret over job security and a squeeze on incomes.
Separately on Thursday British baby and maternity productsretailer Mothercare posted flat UK like-for-like salesin its fourth quarter, while books and stationery retailer WHSmith reported a 5 percent rise in first-halfprofit.
M&S stock last month hit a 28-month high after a newspaperreported that the Gulf state of Qatar was planning a bid.Neither side has commented on the report.
Bolland said on Thursday that Britain's takeover regulatorwould have forced them to comment, if there was any substance tothe report.
