The EMI Group managed to lose £757 million in its last financial year (which ended back in March), which compares to a £287 million loss the previous year.

But no one seems to care too much because, while new owners Terra Firma were in control for over half of that financial year, they can convincingly argue that their radical revamp of management and strategy only really came into effect since March, and they’ve already been very vocal in declaring just how big a mess the UK based major was in before they took over.

We’re told just how big a mess in a report prepared by Terra Firma’s Maltby Capital (the Terra Firma company set up to buy EMI) which was published last week. Although some of the losses can be accounted for by the early costs of Terra Firma’s restructuring and a revaluation of assets and liabilities, the report blames the scale of loss on a poor release schedule which saw the major score only three million sellers, compared to 18 in the previous financial year. Needless to say, it was recorded music that let the side down, with EMI Music Publishing performing well.

Commenting on the report and the colossal losses, Maltby Capital’s Chairman, former BBC chief John Birt, told reporters: “The main factor behind the very large loss was continued operational poor performance, but more particularly accounting factors, in particular the revaluation of the balance sheet and the requirement to mark assets and liabilities to fair values”.

Stressing that the poor results were the fault of old management, and that the new regime is turning things round, he continued: “Operating performance for the full year continued to be poor and this reflected long-term weaknesses in EMI Music. EMI’s operational performance has improved significantly during the first seven and a half months of Maltby ownership and we expect the six months results ended 30 September 2008 to show year on year improvement. EMI now has a stronger balance sheet and team with which to start a new era”.

Given that Terra Firma chief Guy Hands has been so vocal in his criticism of EMI’s previous management and brutally honest in his assessment of the major’s position, little in the Maltby report comes as much of a surprise, though it is now easy to see why at the start of 2007 former EMI top man Eric Nicoli suddenly fired the EMI Music top guard and worked so hard to get the major into private ownership – presumably he foresaw the financial year then ahead and now so gloomily retold.

Meanwhile, let’s round up with five amusing (or terrifying) facts about EMI in 2007 courtesy of the Maltby report and the Financial Times…

1. 88 per cent of its artists make a loss.

2. Some employees were paid in the past at salaries that were double market rates or higher.

3. Almost 50 per cent of CDs were returned unsold in April and May 2007

4. More than £700,000 was spent by EMI on taxis in London in the past year (it was the fourth biggest taxi account in London behind three investment banks with much bigger workforces).

5. EMI Music Publishing accounted for more than 100 per cent of EMI’s earnings in 2007, which I’m not sure even makes sense.