British Retail Giant Faces Profit Loss After Cyberattack
(MENAFN) British retail giant Marks & Spencer (M&S) has revealed that it expects a EURO300 million (USD402 million) reduction in profits this year due to a “highly sophisticated” cyberattack that has significantly impacted its online operations and delivery systems.
The attack, which took place over the Easter weekend, forced the well-known retailer to stop accepting orders on its website and disrupted product distribution to both stores and its online grocery partner, Ocado.
M&S predicts that the disruption will continue “throughout June and into July” as the company works to gradually restore its digital services.
“This has been a bump in the road,” stated CEO Stuart Machin. “We will come out of this in better shape, and continue our plan to reshape M&S.”
This incident occurred shortly after M&S had reported a solid set of annual results.
“This attack interrupted a strong trading period,” Machin explained.
“We started the new financial year with sales growth ahead of budget across both businesses.”
Despite the severity of the cyberattack, M&S maintains a strong financial position, with over EURO400 million in net funds.
The expected financial impact is expected to be partly mitigated by insurance claims, cost reductions, and other recovery strategies.
The cyberattack, which has been linked to the hacker group Scattered Spider, also led to the theft of certain customer information, including names, addresses, dates of birth, and order histories.
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