Music group EMI, the company behind Coldplay, is on course to make bigger profits than all its major competitors put together.
With only days to go before the close of the financial year, the company is thought to be heading for operating profits of about £300m. This is higher than many analysts have forecast and reflects EMI's better-than-expected performance in the American market.EMI's market share in the US has risen by about 1% to 12%. And, unlike many other major territories, the American music market has grown in the past year, possibly because of a crackdown on illegal downloading on the internet.
The company had significant success in cracking the giant US market last year with artists such as Norah Jones. Higher sales there are crucial for the British firm, which has been seen as weak in the region.
EMI, which has twice failed to merge with rival Warner, now faces the prospect of a merger between two of its other major competitors, BMG and Sony, which plan to combine to form the world's second-largest music company.
It is thought that when results are announced later in the spring, EMI chairman Eric Nicoli will offer investors, whose shares have risen from a low of 165 1/2p this year to 243 1/2p, the prospect of further reductions in the group's cost base.
Though spending on discovering and developing new talent is being increased, the introduction of new IT systems means the group should be able to reduce back-office jobs.
Source: ThisIsLondon
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