High Street giant Marks & Spencer has announced strong sales growth over the festive period.

The retailer said that on a like-for-like basis - which strips out the effects of store openings and closings - total sales grew by 7% in the 15 weeks to 11 January.

But M&S admitted that clothing sales had fallen short of expectations, and surplus stock had ended up being shifted during the January sales.

Its share price fell in morning trade as investors worried over what impact this would have on profit margins.

M&S shares closed down 18 pence at 304p.

Protecting profit

Over the past year M&S has been on the path to recovery, after a dismal few years which saw it lose sales and market share to rivals.

The retailer said food sales were up 4% over the Christmas period, while non-food sales grew 8.8%.

Clothing sales grew by 9.8%, but M&S said its sales in this sector had fallen short of plans - especially in November.

Many retailers struggled to shift stock during this period, when mild weather led to poor sales of winter clothing.

Beating Next

M&S said the surplus stock was cleared in the January sales, and tried to reassure investors that profit margins would not suffer as a result.

"As a percentage of sales, markdowns are lower than this time last year and we stick to our guidance that gross margins will go up 1% this year," chief financial officer Alison Reeds said.

Marks' sales growth beat other retail rivals who have already reported their Christmas sales figures.

Next reported a 1.7% increase in like-for-like sales in the 23 weeks to 4 January, while department store chain Debenhams said sales grew 2.8% in the 19 weeks to 11 January.