Cyberattack on Marks & Spencer slices profits by more than a half
[November 06, 2025] By
PAN PYLAS
LONDON (AP) — British retailer Marks and Spencer saw its half-year
profits more than halve as a result of a cyberattack that brought its
online business to a grinding halt.
In a statement Wednesday, M&S said its underlying pretax profits tumbled
55.4% to 184.1 million pounds ($240 million) in the six months to Sept.
27, largely on the back of a 40% collapse in online home and fashion
sales after it was forced to halt website orders. Firm food sales helped
cushion the blow.
M&S had to stop all online sales for around six weeks and suffered empty
shelves due to disruption to its logistics systems after hackers
targeted the business around the Easter weekend. The company has said
the attack was due to “human error.”
The hack cost it 324 million pounds in lost sales but that it was able
to recover 100 million through an insurance payout.
It added that the attack is set to impact profits by around 136 million
pounds, including about another 34 million in the final six months of
the year.
The main business to suffer was M&S's fashion arm which saw overall
sales down 16.4% in the first half of the year, with online sales down
42.9%.
The hack, one of the most disruptive in British corporate history, also
saw customers' personal data, which could have included names, email
addresses, postal addresses and dates of birth, taken by hackers.
“The first half of this year was an extraordinary moment in time for
M&S," said Stuart Machin, chief executive of M&S. "We are now getting
back on track.”
M&S resumed home deliveries in June after the hack, but did not restart
click and collect orders until August.
The company said online sales have been improving and the group expects
overall trading to be fully recovered by the end of its financial year.
However, it said the “recovery” has been slower in fashion, home and
beauty than it has been in food.
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People walk past a branch of British clothing and food store Marks
and Spencer in London, Wednesday, May 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Alastair
Grant)
 Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at
AJ Bell, said M&S's “catastrophic summer” could well have long-term
implications for the company.
“Its rivals made hay while the sun shone, with Next among the names
luring customers away from M&S during the lengthy period of
disruption," he said. “M&S says the recovery in trading for clothing
has been slower than food, suggesting that some people who tasted
the flavors of rival retailers might not necessarily come back
quickly.”
M&S has not been the only British retailer to suffer disruption to
its business as a result of a cyberattack. Harrod's, the luxury
London department store, and the Co-op have also been targets. It
remains unclear if the three attacks are linked, and police
investigations are ongoing.
Experts, including those from the U.K.'s National Cyber Security
Centre are saying that generative artificial intelligence is
accelerating the threat landscape, and that firms and individuals
have to stay on top of developments and shore up their defenses
against cyberattacks.
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