Marks & Spencer set to report sales rise Britain's biggest clothing retailer is expected to report that like-for-like sales of what it calls general merchandise - non-food products, including its all important womenswear - has increased by 0.2pc, according to a poll of 10 analysts. This would be a small but significant improvement on the fall of 1.8pc during the third quarter. This was, in part, because the company stopped selling low-margin electrical goods. Homewares sales fell 13.3pc in the three months to December after the company stopped selling electrical products. Even aside from electricals, Marc Bolland, the chief executive, admitted womenswear had fallen slightly over Christmas. Shareholders will be keen to see a return to growth here. Sales of food are expected to slow down from the 3pc experienced in the third quarter, which benefited from customers splashing out at Christmas, to about 1.6pc, according to the poll. The company will also give its first guidance for the financial year just starting which ends in April 2013. Analysts expect pre-tax profits this year to reach £740m, up from an estimated £694m from the year just finished. Bethany Hocking, analyst at Investec, believes M&S can improve its margins slightly by buying more efficiently. In the year to April 2012, the company cut £90m from its cost base with suppliers picking up much of the bill. Last year, it was mostly general merchandise suppliers that were leant upon, this year food suppliers could be next in line.