Noddy and Mr Men take on the world

Noddy is set to drive into new markets as he celebrates his 60th birthday this year, parent company Chorion revealed today.

Chorion said the little wooden boy, first created by Enid Blyton in 1949, will expand into Spain and Canada as the firm boosts the character’s global merchandising.

The company, which also boasts children’s favourites Mr Men and Paddington as well as the literary estates of Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler, reported a 35% rise in annual revenues to £53.7m (€59.2m) in the year to March 31.

Noddy will celebrate his anniversary this Christmas, having already enjoyed the successful launch of a new 52-part series in the UK.

Chorion said the new Noddy in Toyland show went straight to the number one spot for four to six-year-old viewers on Five in its first month.

Noddy makes up 14% of Chorion sales, while 18% comes from the adventures of the Mr Men characters.

The latter saw revenues rise 44% in the period, led by a “tremendous” increase in television and internet exposure.

Mr Men, which now airs in 70 countries, saw record publishing performance in the year.

More than 6.8 million books were sold in the UK in 2008, an increase of 14% on the previous year, while US book sales soared 400% to 1.7 million as the brand took hold in the country.

The characters are also the stars of their own clothing brand and Mr Men t-shirts sold well in the UK and US.

Localised versions of the Mr Men internet site have now been launched in the US, UK, France, Australia and Japan and Chorion predicted the brand will soon have a “very substantial retail presence worldwide”.

Olivia – a children’s programme about an imaginative piglet – accounts for 5% of group sales.

Chorion said the show was the leading US programme for girls aged two to five in its first two months and was subsequently sold in another 122 territories including the UK.

The firm’s crime division saw revenues rise 24% to £20.3m (€22.4m).

An average of four million books in the Agatha Christie estate are sold annually and Chorion said it signed a deal with ITV during the year for Miss Marple and Poirot, under which six films were made.

It said eight new film adaptations of Agatha Christie novels, including 'Murder on the Orient Express', are currently in the pipeline.

Chorion took on £78.5m (€86.5m) of debt when it was taken private by 3i and there has been speculation that the firm’s slower growing adult section could be sold off to reduce its liabilities.

Earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortisation were up 63% to £14.6m (€16m), but the privately owned company did not reveal its debt level or give a pre-tax profit figure.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, executive chairman Lord Waheed Alli said he was keen to see the business on the stock market again, but would not do so in the next year.