Sweet sales music from HMV
HMV EMERGED as the clear winner in the Christmas battle for entertainment sales, showing a clean pair of heels to all its High Street rivals - and notably to WH Smith, which was forced to issue a profits warning two weeks ago.
HMV, which embraces the music and DVD chain as well as bookshops group Waterstone's, said like-for-like sales rose by 3% and actual sales by 6.6% in the five weeks to 3 January. WH Smith had flat sales in the run-up to Christmas.
HMV chief executive Alan Giles said: 'HMV in the UK sold more music and DVDs than all the supermarkets put together. Christmas best-sellers included CDs from Dido, Black Eyed Peas and Red Hot Chili Peppers and DVDs like Pirates of the Caribbean and Peter Kay Live.'
The runaway best-selling book was Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Waterstone's sold every third copy of Lynne Truss's pedantic guide to punctuation that was bought in the UK.
Giles said HMV improved its gross profit margin over Christmas 2002 despite fierce competition, particularly from supermarkets discounting CDs.
The company also revealed good results for the half-year to 25 October with sales up by 2.6% to £734m and pre-tax profits ahead by 70% at £10.7m.
It opened nine new HMV stores in the UK and seven in Japan, and two new Waterstone's. A new Waterstone's superstore will open on London's Oxford Street later this year.
The interim dividend is up from 1.1p to 1.3p.
