Buoyed by Vivendi's acquisition of See Tickets and its strong festival showing, German concert promotion and ticketing company CTS Eventim saw its consolidated revenue rise 21% to 793.6 million euros ($854.4 million ) in the second quarter of the year, the company announced on Thursday (August 22). Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fared even better, rising 23.3% to 110.0 million euros ($118.4 million).
The live entertainment segment had revenue of €631.1 million ($679.5 million), up 19.7% from the year-ago period, and adjusted EBITDA of €36.6 million ($39.4 million). dollars), increased by 5.0%. Four of the top five events took place outside CTS Eventim's home market: Bruce Springsteen in Spain; and Ultimo, Pinguini Tattici Nucleari and Max Pezzali in Italy. The company's festival portfolio – which includes Rock am Ring, Rock im Park and Nova Rock – is off to a “good start” and advance ticket sales for upcoming festivals “suggest that the upward trend is set to continue”, according to a press release.
Ticket revenue rose 28.5% to €175.2 million ($188.6 million) while segment adjusted EBITDA rose 29.5% to €156.6 million ($168.6 million). Specifically, See Tickets has been included on the books of CTS Eventim since that deal was completed in June. Three of the top five ticketed events, including concerts by Italian rapper Ultimo and South American reggae band Natiruts, took place outside Germany.
“Through See Tickets and its related live entertainment businesses, we not only improved our market position in two of our focus markets — the UK and the US — but also expanded our team to include additional units with high motivated and highly qualified”, CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg he said in a statement.
Based on the company's performance in the first half of the year, CTS Eventim's executive board expects adjusted EBITDA to “increase significantly” in the second half of 2024. The current quarter will be boosted by CTS Eventim's role as an official ticketing partner for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the recently concluded Paralympic Games, which will run from August 28 to September 8.
Following that upbeat guidance, CTS Eventim shares rose as much as 10.6% before closing at €87.25 ($93.94), up 5.8%. The day's improvement brought the stock's year-to-date gain to 39.4%.
Looking further into the future, CTS Eventim is building a sustainable arena in Milan, Italy. Construction began in November and remains on schedule, according to the earnings release. Bidding for naming rights and VIP suites will begin this fall.
