Marks and Spencer has revealed it has a defined benefit pension scheme surplus of £449m, making it one of few DB schemes not to have a deficit.

The company revealed the figure in its full year results published today, which it also reported an increase in group sales of 0.4 per cent.

Last year, the scheme had a surplus of £189m, making this year an increase of £260m. Marks and Spencer said the increase is due to movement in the UK DB surplus, specifically an increase in the market value of scheme assets attributable to higher than expected returns.

It said it was partly offset by an increase in the present value of scheme liabilities due to a decrease in the discount rate from 4.45 per cent to 3.10 per cent from the movement in corporate bond yields.

The company contributed £143m in the year, which includes an additional £56m of deficit reduction contributions. A spokesperson for Marks and Spencer said the funding element is agreed as part of its triennial valuation, which is currently based on the 2012 valuation.

“Our next one is due as of at 31 March 2015, so we’re expecting that towards the end of this year and we’ll update and advise accordingly depending on the outcome of that,” she said.

The results published by Marks and Spencer are a rare sight amongst DB schemes in the UK. Supermarket giant Tesco announced last month it is to pay £270m a year into its struggling DB scheme after its preliminary results highlighted a £4bn pension deficit.

In addition, Mercer recently reported the aggregate deficits of the UK’s largest 350 listed companies increased by over £1bn in April. Data from Mercer’s Pensions Risk Survey showed deficits increased from £127bn at 31 March 2015 to £128bn at 30 April 2015 with funding levels at 83 per cent.

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