British music and book retailer HMV has reported a first-half loss of £31.8m, but said group sales had improved over Christmas in the UK and Ireland.
'The markets in which we operate continue to be very difficult,' said chief executive Simon Fox. He said action it had taken to improve its position were yielding benefits, but were not enough to offset 'profound changes' in its markets.
In the five weeks to January 6, group sales rose 10.3%, although there was a fall of 0.8% when new stores were stripped out. In the UK and Ireland, like-for-like sales grew 0.7% over Christmas.
Last month, HMV warned that an uninspiring Christmas music chart and discounting by online rivals had hit sales. It said the value of the UK music market, including digital downloading, fell 14% during October and November.
Discounting by rival booksellers hit HMV's Waterstone's division, where like-for-like sales fell 2% over Christmas. Group sales were £767.2m in the six months to October 28, compared with £759.7m a year earlier, with growth from new stores and the acquisition of Ottakar's bookstores offsetting a like-for-like sales decline of around 5.5%.
