M&S says it has plans to open a further 20 stores - which could, conversely, continue its cull of high street shops.

The department store has closed stores in Ashford, Maidstone, Folkestone and Deal in recent years as it consolidates with larger stores in out-of-town developments.

The string of closures was part of a strategy to streamline its offering after steadily declining clothes sales and a drop in town centre footfall.

But in its latest financial figures, for the six months ending October 2, published this morning, the company appears to have turned a corner, with its food halls and online sales key drivers of growth.

It delivered pre-tax profits of £187.3million - in stark contrast to last year's loss of £87.6m.

More encouragingly, it was up on the £158.8m profit it made over a similar period prior to the pandemic.

It estimated annual profits would be "in the region of" £500m. The news sent its share price soaring by 15%.

Food sales this year were also up 10.4%.

Steve Rowe, M&S chief executive, said: “Given the history of M&S we’ve been clear that we won’t overclaim our progress. Unpacking the numbers isn’t a linear exercise and we’ve called out the Covid bounce back tailwinds, as well as the headwinds from the pandemic, supply chain and Brexit, some of which will continue into next year.

"But, thanks to the hard work of our colleagues, it is clear that underlying performance is improving, with our main businesses making important gains in market share and customer perception. The hard yards of driving long term change are beginning to be borne out in our performance.”

It added that the "pipeline" of new "full line" stores, which will stock food and fashion, has grown to 20 - six of which have included the purchasing of former Debenhams sites.

However, it may still see some stores close, with M&S bosses saying new branches will "enable the consolidation of nearby stores".

Paul Cannons, at investment management company Brewin Dolphin’s Tunbridge Wells office, said: “M&S has reported a strong set of results for the last six months, with food sales up 10.4% and that division continuing to drive the e business - particularly through its Ocado partnership and retail park stores that remain the unlikely stalwart of the market since the pandemic.

"For its clothing and home business, M&S is starting to turn the page with additional brands coming on board and a renewed focus on its online store offering a better foundation. Credit is due to the management team for turning around something that was heading toward being un-investable to being a potentially attractive recovery story.

"However, there is still a question mark around next steps as the company moves beyond its so-called ‘fixing the basics’ phase. Shares have been on an upward trend and should that momentum continue they could regain their FTSE100 place in time, but external factors with the supply chain and rising labour costs could be enough to flatten those goals.”

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