Profits at Universal Music have jumped by more than a third as the world's biggest music group tunes up for a stock market flotation.

The bottom line jumped by 38pc to €753m (£641m) for the six months to June, driven by strong sales of BTS, the Best album and new releases from Justin Bieber and Olivia Rodrigo.

Revenues also climbed by 17pc to €3.8bn as streaming income and record sales rose by 25pc and 40pc respectively. Universal has held eight of the top 10 albums so far this year.

The update comes as the record label behind stars such as Taylor Swift and Elton John prepares for a stock market listing in Amsterdam in September.

Meanwhile, French owner Vivendi plans to offload 10pc of Universal Music to Pershing Square, the hedge fund controlled by the billionaire investor Bill Ackman.

The group had previously sought to sell the minority stake to Mr Ackman's special purpose acquisition company - Pershing Square Tontine Holdings - but shifted to his hedge fund after investors and regulators questioned the move.

Vivendi plans to retain a 10pc stake in Universal following the float after selling two 10pc stakes to Tencent, the Chinese tech and entertainment conglomerate.

Vivendi, controlled by the Bollore family, owns 80pc of Universal alongside investments in French broadcaster Canal+, film and TV production company Studiocanal, advertising agency Havas, book publisher Editis and Gamesloft, the mobile games maker.

Vivendi was pushed close to bankruptcy after seizing control of Universal in 2000 following a break-up of the entertainment assets owned by the Canadian conglomerate Seagram.

However, the music industry has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years as Spotify and Apple Music ushered in a streaming boom, handing record labels a steady flow of income from subscribers.

Overall, Vivendi's revenues rose 12pc to €8.2bn for the half-year period as earnings rose 49pc to €1.1bn largely driven by growth from Universal, Canal+ and Havas.