Rising sales boost confident HMV

HMV UK & Ireland like for like sales up 1.9 per cent.

For the year to 25 April, HMV has reported a pre-tax profit of £61.3m, rising from £52m the year before.

Sales from HMV shops in the UK and Republic of Ireland rose 1.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis. However, like for likes were down 3.8 per cent at its Waterstone's book shops. Online channels continued to grow with hmv.com up 16 per cent and waterstones.com up 60 per cent. During the period the group acquired and reopened as HMV 25 former Zavvi entertainment stores. Simon Fox, Chief Executive, said: 'At the end of the second year of our three-year transformation plan the Group has delivered further profit growth, despite the challenging retail environment. We are continuing to adapt to meet the changes in our markets and, whilst there is still much to do, our plans for the third year of our programme are on track.

'We are also looking at further growth opportunities available to us, and are very pleased with the recently announced joint venture in live music and partnerships for film and mobile. I am confident that we have the right strategy in place to continue to build a strong and vibrant business for the future.'