Marks & Spencer Profit Up 16%

LONDON -- U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer Group said Tuesday that its fiscal first-half net profit rose 16% to 261.2 million pounds ($421.6 million) as revenue grew 5.4% to 4.57 billion pounds. Adjusted pretax profit at the group rose 17% to 348.6 million pounds and was in line with the 347 million pounds consensus forecast. Marks & Spencer said comparable U.K. sales rose 4.4% from a year earlier. CEO Marc Bolland, who joined the company earlier this year, said his focus over the next three years will be on growing the core U.K. business and that capital spending over