Marks & Spencer (M&S) shares hit an all-time high after the British retailer posted a 32 percent jump in first-half profit and said it plans to expand at home and abroad.

M&S shares surged to an all-time high of 697.5 pence, the biggest riser on the UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 index and strongly outpacing a 0.7 percent rise in the DJ Stoxx European retail index.

Nearly two-and-a-half years since being parachuted in to revive the iconic high-street brand, chief executive Stuart Rose reported a better-than-expected 405 million pound ($772 million) pretax profit yesterday due to strong sales of women’s wear.

M&S’s market share of women’s wear, featured in a high-profile advertising campaign, increased to 10.5 percent from 9.4 percent. Rose said a red jersey dress worn in an M&S ad by Lizzy Jagger, Rolling Stone Mick Jagger’s daughter, had sold out in days.

“These are a good set of results, we are quietly confident about the progress of the business,” he added.

Although still refusing to call a recovery at the retailer until after the key Christmas period, Rose said the focus was on growth and he aimed to increase selling space by as much as 20 percent over the next five years.

Trading for the first five weeks of the third quarter was in line with the first-half rate and the retailer was “well-positioned” for the vital Christmas period, he said, providing a more upbeat message than rivals like Philip Green’s Arcadia group. M&S said it aimed to open 15 international stores in the second half of this year, in locations including India, Russia and Dubai.

International sales grew fastest in the first half, rising nearly 18 percent compared with 10.5 percent growth in Britain.