Music, games and books retailer HMV has reported improved profits following the demise of rivals such as Zavvi and Woolworths.
The company’s pre-tax loss fell to £24.9m for the 26 weeks to 24 October, compared with a loss of £27.5m in the same period last year. Overall sales rose by 5.6% to £797m. However, Waterstone’s sales fell 4.3%.
In a statement, the company says: “The exit of competitors from the UK entertainment market at the beginning of 2009 has created opportunities to capture sales in markets where these stores formerly overlapped with HMV.”