A drive to slash jobs and dump B-list acts helped push the ailing music giant EMI Group back into profit in the first half year of 2002, but sales continued to tumble. EMI is the world's third biggest music company, and no longer blames only piracy from their loss of sales, but still sees it as a major issues.
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Unveiling the first results of its brutal cost cutting, EMI posted an adjusted pre-tax profit of £42.2m for the six months to end September, compared with a £2m loss in the same period last year. Analyst forecasts had ranged between £45.8m and £50m.Home to the Rolling Stones, Robbie Williams and country singer Garth Brooks, EMI said its overall sales slid 10% to £961.5m, with core recorded music turnover tumbling just over 12%.'The market weakness will now result in full-year sales in recorded music below last year's level," EMI's chairman, Eric Nicoli, said. 'Nonetheless, we expect... to deliver a substantial full-year improvement at all levels of profitability for the group".
Facing rampant piracy, weak economies and increasing competition from other entertainment, EMI kicked off a radical restructuring earlier this year, slashing 1,800 jobs and dumping 400 fading acts in a drive to cut costs and revive its fortunes. |
Of course we can't deny that piracy IS a factor in the tumbling record sales, but there are certainly more points to look at. If they solve those problems, piracy numbers might also drop.
Source: Businessam.co.uk
