THE world's third largest music company EMI lifted annual profits by almost 13 per cent yesterday after seeing revenues from its digital content more than double.

The group, which has Coldplay, Gorillaz and Robbie Williams on its roster of artists, said its music division outperformed the rest of the industry as group underlying profits rose to £159.3m in the year to March 31.

Downloads of its music content showed the strongest growth as EMI reported digital sales increased to £112.1m from £46.9m a year earlier.

That included strong digital sales of Coldplay's latest album X&Y, which was the largest selling digital album release in the US.

The results came as investors awaited the next move from the company in its attempt to take over Warner Music Group.