Peppa Pig is Entertainment One's $1bn brand

Entertainment One had already flagged better-than-expected profits back in January, which explains why shares in the TV and film company have surged by a fifth since. It also means that these impressive full-year results had been priced in by investors, and a significant catalyst will be needed to make a break above technical resistance at around 325p stick.

The company behind children's TV favourite Peppa Pig doubled pre-tax profit for the year ended 31 March to £44 million on revenue down 5% on a reported basis to £786 million - a dip in film sales offset a blockbuster television performance where sales rose by nearly a third. Even after stripping out one-off costs - largely acquisitions and restructuring - profit still grew by 13% to £88.8 million, in line with consensus estimates.

These numbers keep Entertainment One on track to double the size of the business within five years, a strategy set out by chief executive Darren Throop in November. Paying $132.6 million (£87 million) in January for a 51% stake in The Mark Gordon Company, the LA production company behind Grey's Anatomy, will help.

So too will the ongoing success of the Peppa Pig franchise. The long-running series generated $1 billion of retail sales during the period and ended the year with over 600 licensing deals globally. It was why revenue at the TV division's Family & Licensing unit rose 71% to £60.8 million and underlying cash profit more than doubled to £23.8 million. Peppa Pig is still aired seven days a week in the US and will be launched in China and France soon.

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Investec Securities is still crunching the numbers and its forecasts are under review. But the broker does expect consensus earnings per share (EPS) estimates to rise by 5-6% to about 27p, excluding share options. "Buy for scaled independent quality content play and global leverage," it says.

On Investec's current forecasts, Entertainment One trades on 13 times forward earnings, which appears modest given growth is tipped to nudge double-digits this year amid a pick-up in film, with 250 movies slated for release in the next financial year.

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