EMI, the world's third largest music group, has warned on profits following delays in releasing two of its major albums.
The British company said music sales would be 8-9% lower than last year, while underlying pre-tax profits would be around £138m, below analysts' forecasts of £168m.
'Two major albums, one by Coldplay and one by Gorillaz, originally scheduled for this financial year will now be released in the first half of the next financial year,' EMI said in a statement.
'Creating and marketing music is not an exact science and cannot always coincide with our reporting periods,' said Alain Levy, chairman and chief executive of EMI Music.
