Have the flames creeping around Marks & Spencer abated or are they close to consuming the stalwart of the high street?

During the summer, the chain’s chairman, Archie Norman, said the business was “on a burning platform” and that its future depended on whether it was able to change and develop.

This week will bring an indication of what the future holds for the company. On Wednesday, it will release its half-year results, giving some idea of whether the turnaround plan is bearing fruit.

The expectations are not positive, however, with speculation that the chain is going to present a “subdued” report of its recent performance.

It has been a difficult year for M&S. In May, the company announced a sharp fall in annual profits as a result of poor clothing sales; at the same time, the cost of extensive store closures mounted. Pretax profits slumped 62% to £66.8m after a £514.1m bill for restructuring that included £321m to pay for the first phase of its store closure plan. One in three of its core clothing and home stores are scheduled to disappear within four years.

The problems are ones that have beset many retailers which were once prominent features on the high street – the rise of the internet as a destination for shoppers, and moves towards cheaper options such as Primark, Aldi and Lidl.

Shore Capital analysts have said they expected sales to be down by 1.5% in the announcement this week – including a drop in clothing sales – and profitability to decline, too.

“With the group still working through step one, ‘restoring the basics’, of a multi-year restructuring/transformation programme, one that will touch all areas of the business, it should not be a surprise that we anticipate a relatively subdued overall financial performance year-on-year,” it said.

“Much heavy lifting is being undertaken behind the scenes to make M&S a more fit-for-the-future organisation, though it remains too early to be reflected in the trading, operational or financial performance of the group.”

Analysts at Barclays also anticipate a fall in food and clothing sales and have said that they did not expect to see any decisive signs of improvement until next year.

Santander forecasts sales down by 0.8% and has questioned whether the scale and speed of the restructuring has been enough to resolve the problems at the retailer. “The numbers will make interesting reading. However, it will, once again, be the strategic update and assessment that will drive share price momentum, in our view,” said its guidance.

Much focus on Wednesday will be on how M&S is dealing with its challenges online. Over the summer, its chief executive, Steve Rowe, was particularly critical of the web operation – pages on its website took 50% longer to load than its slickest rivals, despite a £150m revamp, while its purpose-built warehouse at Castle Donington in Leicestershire could not support its ambition to have 30% of its clothing sales online in five years’ time.

“Marks is belatedly making strides into online and digital retailing, including a new in-store payment app, and the market will be interested in what proportion of sales now come from those areas,” said Graham Spooner, investment research analyst at the Share Centre.

Whether those moves into e-commerce can quench the flames threatening M&S remains to be seen.