Music group EMI blamed delays in releasing new albums by Coldplay and Gorillaz for falling profits and market share.
Investors and music fans had expected the albums to hit store shelves during the year to March 31, but were frustrated as the bands fine-tuned the material before sanctioning their release.
The Demon Days offering from Gorillaz - led by Blur frontman Damon Albarn - went on sale on Monday while Coldplay will unveil their long-awaited X&Y album on June 6. Both are expected to be blockbusters and investors hope they will be able to recover the 7.4 per cent drop in sales at EMI Music over the past year.
EMI said that pre-tax profits fell 13.1 per cent to £141.9m - in line with guidance given to the market in April - as its share of the music market dropped from 13.5 per cent at the start of the financial year to 12.9 per cent by the end of it. This was despite releasing the sixth best-selling album of 2004, with Robbie Williams' Greatest Hits shifting more than six million copies.
Other successes included ongoing demand for earlier releases by Norah Jones.
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