Struggling British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) expects first-half profits to be in line with analysts' forecasts.
The clothing store chain made the anouncement today as it reported its fourth straight quarter of falling sales.
The poor sales performance was no surprise, coming on the heels of last month's trading update. The figures show that clothing and home sales have been steady in the two weeks since then, but food sales have slipped further.
New chief executive Mr Stuart Rose is under pressure to turn around the British retail icon, which is suffering tough competition from high-street rivals and supermarkets, after seeing off retail tycoon Mr Philip Green and his £9 billion sterling takeover approach during the summer.
M&S said total sales for the 12 weeks to October 2nd fell 5.5 per cent, stripping out the effect of new and closed stores, compared to the 12 weeks to September 27th last year.
The drop was led by a 7.6 per cent fall in clothing and homeware and a 2.8 per cent drop in food sales.
M&S said it expected first-half profits before tax and exceptional items to come in a £285 million to £295 million range, compared with £325 million for the same period last year.
It said it expected to book an exceptional charge of around £80 million for the period.