Britain's Chrysalis Group, publisher of Michael Jackson hit songs including Thriller and Rock With You, has seen a huge surge in the sale of his work, and is set to see the benefit in the coming months.

Chrysalis, which on Friday reported a rise in quarterly normalized operating profit, said it held the rights to a number of Jackson's best-known hits through their writer Rod Temperton.

The unexpected death of Michael Jackson has resulted in an extraordinary surge in the sale of his work, Chrysalis said in a statement.

Jackson died on June 25 and the increase in sales would not be seen in the third-quarter results for April to June, but the regular playing of Jackson songs on radio, TV and in public are likely to have an impact on the fourth quarter and beyond.

There will be some income coming in from the mechanical sale of CDs and downloads, from the frenzy after he died, and undoubtedly there will be performances coming through from when he was played on the radio, Finance Officer Andy Mollett told Reuters.

But none of that income comes in immediately. We'll get it probably in the next financial year.

Apple Inc.'s iTunes, the biggest music retailer in the United States, said shortly after Jackson's death that his albums accounted for the top nine sellers, led by a hits package and his 1982 blockbuster Thriller.

Chrysalis said that its quarterly financial performance had been in line with its expectations, following good performances from The Gossip, Bat for Lashes and The Fleet Foxes.

The net publisher's share (NPS), a key revenue metric for the group based on royalties, was up 9.9 percent for the nine months, but down 3.8 percent on a constant currency basis.

Despite uncertainty of macro-economic and exchange rate effects, Chrysalis said it expected an annual consolidated NPS growth for 2009 on a constant currency basis and that the fiscal fourth quarter was usually its strongest.

Shares in the group were up 14.8 percent at 77.5 pence, giving it a market value of about 52 million pounds ($86 million).

United kingdom