The Accounts · daily brief
24 September 2026
A cyber attack halves M&S profit, and a profitable break-up
The takeaways
- An April cyber attack disrupted non-food online sales at M&S, halving the retailer's net profit
- AeroMobile filed on a break-up basis despite strong margins, as Panasonic prepares to dissolve the unit
- BP's Caspian Sea unit paid a £225m dividend to its parent despite operating profit falling by 85%
Hiring signals · who grew, who shrank
Hiring
- Pineapple Technology Ltd 72 → 108 staff ▲ +50% staff cost +80%
- Hamberley Properties Fv (Cofton Hackett) Limited 66 → 94 staff ▲ +42% staff cost +24%
Cutting
- Songa Crewmanagement Limited 939 → 436 staff ▼ −54% staff cost −53%
- P B Gelatins U.K. Limited 89 → 45 staff ▼ −49% staff cost −48% accounts on a break-up basis
Average headcount from the accounts filed yesterday — a look back at last year's payroll, not a live hiring tracker.
Filing of note
Aeromobile Communications Limited
Operating via aeromobile.net, the company is a UK-based provider of in-flight mobile telecommunications services for the aviation industry and forms part of the Japanese multinational Panasonic Group.
Filed on a break-up basis — the business is being wound up.
| Line | FY26 | FY25 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £10.6m | £12.1m | ▼ −12% |
| Gross profit | £7.1m | £9m | ▼ −21% |
| Admin expenses | £2.2m | £2m | ▲ +7% |
| Operating profit | £4.9m | £7m | ▼ −29% |
| Finance costs | £44,431 | £1,506 | ▲ +2850% |
| Profit before tax | £6.5m | £8.9m | ▼ −27% |
| Net profit | £4.8m | £6.7m | ▼ −28% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £102k | — | |
| Net assets | £41.9m | £41.1m | ▲ +2% |
| Dividends paid | −£4m | −£4.5m | ▲ +10% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 6 | 6 | ▲ −0% |
| Staff cost | £693k | £733k | ▼ −6% |
| Director pay | £184k | £165k | ▲ +11% |
| Highest-paid director | £172k | £152k | ▲ +14% |
A notable structural shift is visible in this profitable telecoms unit. Despite recording a healthy operating profit on a lean cost base, the accounts are drawn up on a break-up basis. The entire trade and assets are being transferred to the US parent at book value as part of a wider Panasonic restructure, after which the company will be permanently wound down.
Marks And Spencer Plc [1]
Trading as M&S, the company is a British multinational retailer of clothing, beauty, home, and food products, operating as the primary subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange-listed Marks and Spencer Group P.L.C. (marksandspencer.com).
Cyber hit
| Line | FY26 | FY25 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £14.0bn | £13.7bn | ▲ +2% |
| Gross profit | £4.4bn | £4.7bn | ▼ −6% |
| Admin expenses | £4.0bn | £3.9bn | ▲ +4% |
| Operating profit | £535.2m | £893.5m | ▼ −40% |
| Finance costs | £171.7m | £173.1m | ▼ −1% |
| Profit before tax | £420.6m | £797.4m | ▼ −47% |
| Net profit | £293.9m | £586.3m | ▼ −50% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £922.6m | £863.7m | ▲ +7% |
| Net assets | £5.2bn | £5.1bn | ▲ +3% |
| Dividends paid | −£79.8m | −£65.6m | ▼ −22% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 66,286 | 67,478 | ▼ −2% |
| Staff cost | £2.0bn | £1.8bn | ▲ +10% |
| Director pay | £1.7m | £2.9m | ▼ −40% |
| Highest-paid director | £1.7m | £2.9m | ▼ −40% |
The filing describes a year of two halves, with the first half heavily impacted. A sophisticated cyber attack in April forced a temporary pause in online trading and disrupted stock flow for the fashion and home division, with operating profit falling 40% despite food sales holding strong. Meanwhile, total staff costs rose by nearly 10% even as average headcount gently eased.
Eastern Western Motor Group Limited [2]
Operating via easternwestern.co.uk, the company is a Scottish new and used motor vehicle dealership group and credit broker, acting as a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastern Holdings Ltd.
Agency shift
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £893.5m | £921.7m | ▼ −3% |
| Gross profit | £108.7m | £106.6m | ▲ +2% |
| Admin expenses | £108m | £103.8m | ▲ +4% |
| Operating profit | £10.7m | £13.8m | ▼ −23% |
| Finance costs | £3.9m | £4.3m | ▼ −9% |
| Profit before tax | £6.7m | £9.5m | ▼ −29% |
| Net profit | £5.1m | £7.1m | ▼ −28% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £66.3m | £60.2m | ▲ +10% |
| Net assets | £69.7m | £69.6m | ▲ +0% |
| Dividends paid | −£5m | −£6.3m | ▲ +20% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 1,566 | 1,522 | ▲ +3% |
| Staff cost | £68.9m | £64.9m | ▲ +6% |
| Director pay | £2.8m | £3.2m | ▼ −10% |
| Highest-paid director | £810k | £957k | ▼ −15% |
The slight dip in the top line reflects a structural change. The filing notes that Mini and Honda shifted from a wholesale to an agency model during the year, meaning the group now books a handling fee rather than the full sticker price of the cars. Underlying trading remained steady, with £7.7m deployed to acquire a pair of Audi dealerships from Lookers.
Bp Exploration (Caspian Sea) Limited [3]
The company is a crude oil extraction subsidiary of the London-listed energy major BP plc, focusing on upstream operations in the Caspian Sea region (bp.com).
Heavy dividend
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £817.9m | £913.9m | ▼ −10% |
| Gross profit | £87.5m | £192.2m | ▼ −54% |
| Admin expenses | £33.2m | £28.2m | ▲ +18% |
| Operating profit | £61.6m | £413.3m | ▼ −85% |
| Finance costs | £39.9m | £48.7m | ▼ −18% |
| Profit before tax | £34m | £379.4m | ▼ −91% |
| Net profit | £20.7m | £269.9m | ▼ −92% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £4.5m | £336.8m | ▼ −99% |
| Net assets | £2.1bn | £2.3bn | ▼ −9% |
| Dividends paid | −£225.9m | −£451.8m | ▲ +50% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 2,641 | 2,667 | ▼ −1% |
| Staff cost | £213.7m | £225.1m | ▼ −5% |
| Director pay | £36,147 | £0 | |
Operating profit fell sharply here, attributed in the filing to a $13 drop in the average oil price and the absence of a prior-year impairment reversal. The period also saw significant cash flow upstream. A £225m dividend was paid to the parent company, a payout more than ten times the year's net profit, supported by a £2bn net asset pile.
Boeing Defence Uk Limited [4]
Operating as BDUK, the entity is the British defence subsidiary of the US-listed aerospace group The Boeing Company, providing maintenance, support, and training services for Ministry of Defence aircraft programmes via boeing.co.uk.
Margin expansion
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £519.9m | £571.2m | ▼ −9% |
| Gross profit | £64.7m | £65.2m | ▼ −1% |
| Admin expenses | £28.2m | £33.5m | ▼ −16% |
| Operating profit | £36.5m | £33.4m | ▲ +10% |
| Finance costs | £6.7m | £209k | ▲ +3129% |
| Profit before tax | £35.7m | £41.4m | ▼ −14% |
| Net profit | £26.5m | £29.8m | ▼ −11% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £194.2m | £73.8m | ▲ +163% |
| Net assets | £61.4m | £99.4m | ▼ −38% |
| Dividends paid | −£65m | — | |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 1,969 | 2,083 | ▼ −5% |
| Staff cost | £153.6m | £154m | ▼ −0% |
| Director pay | £927k | £928k | ▼ −0% |
| Highest-paid director | £367k | £347k | ▲ +6% |
Top-line activity on certain aircraft platforms slowed, but wider margins on core contracts saw operating profit edge upwards regardless. The balance sheet also saw notable movement. Following a period of cash retention last year, a £65m dividend was distributed to the US parent.
Portakabin Limited [5]
Operating under the Portakabin brand, the company manufactures and leases permanent modular buildings and portable cabins for the public and private sectors, acting as a subsidiary of Portakabin Holdco Limited within the wider Pacific Topco group.
Debt heavy
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £516.1m | £618.8m | ▼ −17% |
| Admin expenses | £451.7m | £528.7m | ▼ −15% |
| Operating profit | £53m | £68.9m | ▼ −23% |
| Finance costs | £43.4m | £32.1m | ▲ +35% |
| Profit before tax | £9.6m | £37.2m | ▼ −74% |
| Net profit | £4.8m | £23.8m | ▼ −80% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £31.8m | £42.4m | ▼ −25% |
| Net assets | £144.2m | £142.8m | ▲ +1% |
| Dividends paid | £0 | −£178.9m | ▲ +100% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 2,246 | 2,220 | ▲ +1% |
| Staff cost | £131.9m | £132.4m | ▼ −0% |
| Director pay | £2.4m | £2.3m | ▲ +6% |
| Highest-paid director | £1.1m | £1m | ▲ +14% |
Operating profit held up reasonably well against a 16% drop in sales, but the bottom line was heavily impacted by a £43.4m finance charge. That debt profile is funding significant physical assets. The period saw £153m of capital expenditure directed into the hire fleet to maintain the portable buildings inventory.
Sometimes the most profitable outcome is to pack up the desk and hand the keys to the parent company.
Sources
- Marks And Spencer Plc
- Eastern Western Motor Group Limited
- Bp Exploration (Caspian Sea) Limited
- Boeing Defence Uk Limited
- Portakabin Limited