Has M&S managed to untwist its knickers? The stalwart of British shopping will announce its results next week, one year on from the most disastrous results in its 106 year history. Dozens of reasons have been put forward for its demise as the quintessential British store ­ but has new chairman Luc Vandevelde managed to work out which are the real problems and turned it around? Not yet, but he's getting there, according to Verdict research spokesman Mike Godliman. "The results will be poor because trading's been poor all year, but we're expecting that trading's picked up in the past two months." Analysts' forecasts for profits range from £420m to £520m, with a stream of rumours saying the dividend will be cut. Deutche Bank analyst Sundeep Bahandra agrees that next week's figures don't matter as much as Vandevelde's plans. "We know the numbers aren't going to be great but we want to know his plans and how he's going to execute them." Food has been stable throughout the worst of M&S's reforms but Bahandra says it's unlikely to be the company's saviour. "It's a niche business at the top end of the market ­ there's not much opportunity for growth there, so the clothing area has to drive any recovery." M&S's worst problems are behind it, said Godliman. Vandevelde seems to be making the right changes, he said, including separating the company into business units, bringing in new ranges and improving the look of stores. And Godliman makes a brave prediction: "Word-of-mouth will swing from everyone talking about how bad M&S have become to have you been in recently?' It'll be the fashionable place to go." {{NEWS }}