Analysts had been looking for 275m to 310m pre-tax for Thorn EMI Plc’s first nine-month report, but the number came in at 251.1m – yet the share price still jumped 13 pence to 1,151 pence at the opening, against the trend of the market. Excluding a 20.3m charge for disposal of its lighting business, its stake in Thames Television Plc and goodwill written off, the figure was in line with expectations, but the electronics sector, which the company has been trying to shed for years now, was a disaster area, with the unit, lumped with security, showing a whopping 17.5m loss against a 2.2m operating profit this time last year. Our efforts to focus our resources on music, rental and HMV continue, as does our programme to divest the security and electronics businesses. At present, we expect the outcome for the year to be broadly in line with expectations, chief executive Sir Colin Southgate said. Restructuring has continued at Thorn EMI Electronics, with losses in line with expectations. Thorn also said that an independent review it established, headed by former US Senator Warren Rudman, had substantially cleared its US Rent-A-Center hire chain of improper practices.
