Marks & Spencer showed further signs of recovery today as first-half profits came in just ahead of market expectations.
In news welcomed by the market, M&S said designer George Davies - who recently announced he would leave the company's Per Una division - would stay on and become chairman of the fashion unit next July.
But the company said it had not changed its view that the trading environment remains tough as it approaches the vital Christmas trading period.
Pretax profits, stated for the first time under IFRS accounting rules, came in at £308 million ($538 million).
Last month the high street icon delivered its first same-store sales increase in eight quarters as UK turnover rose 1.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the second quarter, reversing a 5.4 per cent decline in the first.
But the already gloomy retail environment has deteriorated since then, with unusually warm autumn weather putting the dampers on sales of seasonal lines such as coats and knitwear.
Shares in M&S, which have outperformed the general retailers' index by more than 36 per cent this year, closed on Monday at 435-1/4 pence, valuing the company at £7.29 billion.