The financial performance of Marks and Spencer Assignment - 1

The financial functioning of Marks and Spencer - Assignment Exampleetail outlets also sell mid to high priced apparel, food, and household items under the companys private punctuate brands, including Autograph, Classic, per una, and Portfolio. The British retail icon operates in about 330 M&S department stores and some 340 Simply Food shops throughout the UK. Beyond Britain, it spreads across everywhere 325 locations, mostly franchises, in about 40 countries, including China, India, Indonesia, and South Korea (Google Finance n.d.). The company recorded revenues of 9,536.6 million ($15,272.9 million) during the financial year ended April 2010 (FY2010), an increase of 5.2% over 2009 (JP Morgan 2011). former(prenominal) financial performance of the firm or an organization is an important indicator for predict or estimate the future of the company. Investors and shareholders measure and value this financial performance (amongst other factors) as a means to assess the expected returns on their investments (Alvarado 2011). Calculation of a number of financial symmetrys for the firms financial press outments is considered a fairly safe way to evaluate the firms past performance, its evolution and key financial issues. The analyses are very valuable for firms management as well in order to identify opportunities to improve performance at the department, unit, division or organizational level. In some cases, ratio analyses can predict future bankruptcy (Loth 2011). Reading and understanding financial ratios is also the quickest method to assess the companys operating performance.In order to understand the company well from financial statements, we need to conduct analyses at three levels (1) Profitability analyses to see if the company is profitable or not, whether the company is a growing company or a stagnant one. (2) Financial Health analyses from ratios that indicate whether the company is sound or not and what is its presence state of solvency. (3) Finally, c ompany specificities will be explored in terms of key growth drivers and competitive