LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - British retailer Marks & Spencer reported a 13th consecutive quarterly fall in underlyingsales of general merchandise, hurt by unseasonably warmSeptember weather.
But the 130-year-old group did post on Wednesday a rise inunderlying first-half profit for the first time in four years,benefiting from improved profit margins and a good performancein food.
Britain's biggest clothing retailer by revenue said sales ofnon-food products, spanning clothing, footwear and homewares, atstores open over a year fell 4.0 percent in the 13 weeks toSept. 27, its fiscal second quarter.
That compared with analysts' average forecast of down 3.7percent and a first quarter decline of 1.5percent.
However, first half-profit before tax before one off itemswas 268 million pounds, ahead of analysts' average forecast of252 million pounds. (Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle)
Marks & Spencer (MKS)