EMI looks to raise US game as Beatles lift sales figures.

EMI is pinning its future growth prospects on boosting its US performance following the announcement of a healthy set of annual results for the year to the end of March.

The company reported a 12% rise in sales to 2.67bn [pounds sterling] with operating profit up 14.4% to 332m [pounds sterling]. On a constant currency basis, the increases were 7.7% and 11.2% respectively. Both its recorded music and publishing arms reported double-digit sales growth. However, previously reported costs associated with its failed merger with Warner helped push net earnings down to 82m [pounds sterling] from 158.4m [pounds sterling].

Catalogue played a key role in EMI's performance, with The Beatles' 1 album (which has sold 21.6m units) and Lenny Kravitz's hits compilation (6.7m) being its biggest sellers of the year and together accounting for more than half of the group's estimated 1.6 percentage points increase in global market share. Berry says that catalogue overall usually accounts for around 30% of EMI's sales -- a total that rises to almost 50% including commercial activities -- but declines to reveal the sales contribution made by The Beatles.

The results, which had been previewed when the company confirmed the ending of its merger talks with BMG last month, come after a difficult year in which the major has seen successive merger attempts with Warner Music and BMG aborted following regulatory difficulties. EMI insists that it will now go it alone as a music-focused standalone operation.

Though EMI increased its North American market share from 9% to 10.8%, Berry argues that the company's relative weakness on the other side of the Atlantic allows it further room for growth. "We're not overly dependent on US repertoire at this time. We're selling a lot of records in places like Brazil ...