LONDON, UK (BBC) - Country music veteran
Dolly Parton and trendy New York rock band the
Strokes helped British music and entertainment firm Sanctuary Group Plc post an 88 percent rise in full-year profits on Monday.
Sanctuary said pre-tax profits for the year ended September 30 rose to 7.7 million pounds ($11.1 million), on revenues up 87 percent to 82 million pounds ($119 million).
"This is a highly satisfactory performance in light of the reduced sales evidently experienced by some of the world's major record companies in recent times," Executive Chairman Andy Taylor said in a statement.
Industry body the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said last year world CD sales fell 4.6 percent in the first six months. Analysts said the trend worsened after the September 11 attacks on the United States.
But Taylor was upbeat about the future. "We are confident both that the market for music remains strong and of our abilities to continue to deliver what consumers want," he said.
Dolly Parton's Grammy-nominated bluegrass album "Little Sparrow," which reached gold record status in Europe by selling more than 100,000 copies, was one of the year's biggest profit boosters for Sanctuary.
The Strokes, whose debut album reached number two in the UK charts, also contributed to the group's results, as did other front-line artists Megadeth and Bonnie Tyler.
This month Sanctuary bought Bravado International Group, a licensing business that owns merchandise rights for Robbie Williams, Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue and "The Lord of the Rings" films and hit TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
"Bravado's activities fit in very well with our strategy of developing and exploiting intellectual property," Taylor said.
Shares in Sanctuary ended 2.5 pence higher at 73 pence $1.06) on Monday, valuing the company at about 225 million pounds ($326 million). Based on last Friday's 70-1/2 pence close, it had outperformed the media sector by 42 percent over the past 12 months.
