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Munich, 22 August 2024 – The CTS EVENTIM Group’s growth picked up markedly in the second quarter of 2024. The ticketing business, in particular, continued to surge. The June figures for the multinational See Tickets group and its live entertainment activities – which were also acquired from Vivendi as part of the transaction – were included in the consolidated figures for the first time.
Besides our traditionally strong home market of Germany, our international business activities once again delivered important growth impetus in the second quarter.
In the Ticketing segment, three out of the five biggest-selling events took place in other European countries or South America. They included concerts by Italian rap superstar Ultimo and South American reggae stars Natiruts.
In the Live Entertainment segment, four of the top five events took place outside Germany, with Bruce Springsteen in Spain, and Ultimo, Pinguini Tattici Nucleari and Max Pezzali in Italy.
This year’s festival season has got off to a good start for CTS EVENTIM with Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Hurricane, Southside and Nova Rock. Very good advance ticket sales for festivals in the coming year also suggest that the upward trend is set to continue.
Our successful preparations for ticketing the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 were one of the operational highlights of the second quarter and the entire project was ultimately a resounding success. The CTS EVENTIM Group is an official ticketing partner once again for the 2026 Winter and 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Construction of the ARENA FOR MILAN – which, once finished, will be Italy’s largest, most innovative and most sustainable multipurpose indoor arena – remains on schedule.
Marketing of the naming rights and exclusive VIP suites, including private skyboxes, lounges and other exclusive spaces, will commence in the autumn.
Group: accelerated growth and higher adjusted EBITDA
Consolidated revenue for the second quarter of 2024 came to EUR 793.6 million, a 21.2% increase on the prior-year period. The Group’s growth outstripped the 11.6% growth it achieved in the first quarter by some distance.
Adjusted EBITDA for the Group is growing at an even faster rate than revenue at 23.3% and amounted to EUR 110.0 million in the second quarter.
For the first six months, consolidated revenue came to EUR 1.202 billion (+17.7%) and adjusted EBITDA came to EUR 202.2 million (+28.9%.
Ticketing
Revenue in the Ticketing segment grew by 28.5% in the second quarter to stand at EUR 175.2 million. Adjusted EBITDA went up by 35.1% to reach EUR 73.4 million in the same period.
For the first six months, revenue for the Ticketing segment came to EUR 358.0 million (+25.8%) and adjusted EBITDA came to EUR 156.6 million (+29.5%).
Live Entertainment
Revenue in the Live Entertainment segment advanced by 19.7% in the second quarter to stand at EUR 631.1 million. Adjusted EBITDA rose by 5.0% to EUR 36.6 million in the same period.
For the first six months, revenue for the Live Entertainment segment came to EUR 865.6 million (+15.2%) and adjusted EBITDA came to EUR 45.6 million (+26.9%).
Despite the tremendous upward pressure on costs that continues to weigh on the sector, the adjusted EBITDA margin in the first six months of the year improved to 5.3%, compared with 4.8% in the prior-year period.
Outlook
Plenty of summer shows, open air events and a variety of festivals are due to take place in the third quarter, which will provide a further boost for the Live Entertainment segment. Ticketing business is traditionally at its strongest in the fourth quarter thanks to Christmas trade and advance ticket sales for the next year of event highlights.
In light of the strong first six months and the See Tickets entities being consolidated in full from the start of June, the Executive Board is optimistic about business performance in the second half of the year. For 2024 as a whole, the Executive Board now expects adjusted EBITDA to grow significantly year on year.
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO: “Our performance in terms of growth and earnings has been excellent in the second quarter of 2024. As announced, we will achieve further growth this year, both organically and through a successful acquisition. Through See Tickets and its associated live entertainment activities, we have not only enhanced our market position in two of our focus markets – the UK and the US – but also expanded our team to include additional highly motivated and highly qualified units. Combined with the innovative technologies and solutions that we have acquired, this is a valuable asset for our company and opens up even more scope for international expansion going forward.”
