HMV stakes its future on technology as sales slide

Fears for HMV intensified yesterday after a "disappointing and unsatisfactory" year saw profits slump over 60 per cent and analysts failed to back the management's turnaround plan.

HMV saw profits fall to £28.9m in 12 months to the end of April. The fall combined with soaring debts forced the company to slash its dividend and not pay another for the foreseeable future.

Chief executive Simon Fox said the management had, "taken decisive action to restructure and successfully refinance the group". Shares in the company fell slightly yesterday to 9.5p, and Seymour Pierce analyst Kate Calvert expects them to almost halve from here. She said: "We continue to believe that the business is a value trap."