London - Leading British retail chain Marks & Spencer (M&S) suffered a sharp drop in pre-tax profits to 706 million pounds (1.1 billion dollars) in 2008, despite a strong rise in turnover in outlets in Asia and Eastern Europe, the company reported Tuesday.

Although overall sales grew by 0.4 per cent to 9.1. billion pounds last year, profits remained well below the 2007 total of 1.1 billion pounds, the retailer said.

Total sales fell by 1.7 per cent in Britain, but increased by 26 per cent in stores internationally, including in China and Eastern Europe.

M&S opened 33 new stores outside Britain in recent years, taking its total to 296.

The company is planning to open 50 new stores across Europe, the Middle East and India this year.

It is running 15 stores in India, in partnership with Indian conglomerate Reliance, and plans to open 10 to 15 more there over the next two years.

Analysts said the continuing consumer trend towards cheaper products and increasing competition were hurting M&S.

"We remain cautious about the outlook for the remainder of the year," M&S chief executive Stuart Rose said Tuesday.(dpa)