Like-for-like sales for the final 13 weeks of 2011 were up 0.5% a year earlier.

Food sales were up 3%. M&S said that its customers were “keen to protect their spending on festive food, despite the pressure on their disposable incomes”.

Although food sales increased, M&S said that, general merchandise sales fell by 1.8%.

International sales were up 8.1%, reflecting growth in the priority markets of India and Shanghai, according to the firm.

‘Trading strategy worked well’

Chief executive Marc Bolland said: “Our food business performed very strongly as customers enjoyed our new and traditional Christmas products.

“In clothing, our focus was on offering our customers real value at a time when they’re managing their budgets carefully. Our trading strategy worked well, delivering a record performance in many categories including menswear and sleepwear.”

Elsewhere, home sales were down 13.3%, while clothing sales were up 1.1%.

 ‘Challenging trading environment’

The company said it expected trading conditions to remain challenging and was “cautious” about the year ahead. It also said that it expected to hit its profit targets for the year.

Separately, the British Retail Consortium said that December retail sales in the UK rose by 2.2% after a “dazzling” final week before Christmas.