Despite Debt EMI Reports Improvement

Last week Citi refused to re-write EMI's massive debt forcing owner Terra Firma to write off 90% of its original investment (a bit of a tax trick, but still…). Despite all the debt and turmoil, EMI managed to report improved sales figures for late 2008 and the early part of 2009. And that's before adding most of the sales from the recent Beatles re-masters. In fact, EMI may have been the only major label to grow sales in the period.

• Full-year earnings to March 31, 2009 up 7.4% to £1.563 billion ($2.58 billion)…
• Recorded music sales up 4.% to £1.095 billion ($1.81 billion)
• EMI Music Publishing sales up 14.6% to £468 million ($773.83 million)

Read a pdf chart from EMI of its 2009 fiscal year performance here.