Marks & Spencer has recorded the lowest sales in four years after reporting low clothing sales. Pre-tax profits for 2012-2013 came in at just over £665.2 million, a fall of 6 percent from results published the same time last year.

The results also were well below the Cities forecast at the start of the financial year, of £710 million.

Overall sales at M&S dropped by 1 percent with only food sales providing respite from the negative reports, with an increase of 1.7 percent.

The retailer has said that investments “building longer term foundations”, including the recent construction of a new distribution centre at Castle Donington designed to increase M&S’s focus on online sales, had increased short-term costs.

Despite the publication of the results, shares increased by nearly 2 percent, with markets expecting the sales reduction based on poor weather and reduced consumer spending.

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