Noddy and Poirot cheer Chorion

AN unlikely combination of Noddy and Hercule Poirot swelled profits at intellectual property group Chorion in its first set of results since separating from its London bars division.

Chorion, which in May demerged from its bar and nightclubs division, now called Urbium, saw half-year pre-tax profits leap 46% as the Noddy character was relaunched in conjunction with a new digitally animated series on Channel 5. The show, which hit TV screens this week, is to be broadcast twice a day, six days a week until at least the end of the year.

Chorion executive chairman Nick Tamblyn said he hoped the coverage would foster lucrative sales of spin-off merchandise, leading to a strong stream of royalty revenues into next year. HarperCollins is collaborating with a new set of books tying in with the TV show.

Meanwhile, a series of 45 Agatha Christie book and magazine publications drove a sales increase of nearly one third in its adult brands. More than 45,000 fans of the novelist have signed up to the series, which every fortnight includes a hardback novel and background magazine about the characters and author. Similar so-called partworks are planned for other novelists.

But Tamblyn was cautious about the adult division's chances of getting new commissions from the deflated television market. 'Next year should be better than this, but I do not mean everything will be hunky-dory by any means.'

Despite such caution, he remained keen to buy up more adult works, having recently taken over the rights to the fictional works of Nicolas Freeling, whose Amsterdam-based Van der Valk character is much loved by detective fans.

Pre-tax profits in the six months to 30 June came in at £1.2m, against £800,000 for the same period a year earlier on turnover of £4.1m against £3.6m previously. The profits were flattered by a significant fall in the net interest charge as a result of the demerger. On an operating level, earnings were £1.6m against £1.5m.

Under its ownership of the 400 works of Georges Simenon, the company has a further 12 Maigret films commissioned for French TV.