M&S profit falls for third straight year

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)