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Munich, 12 February 2009. The ticketing business for music, cultural and sports events is booming even in times of financial and economic crisis. More than 70 million tickets were sold in 2008 using the systems developed and operated by the EVENTIM Group. The company is proving once again that is has strong revenue and earnings even in a troubled economic climate. CTS EVENTIM AG, which is listed on the SDAX exchange (ISIN DE0005470306), generated EUR 404.4 million in revenue in the 2008 business year (2007: EUR 384.4 million, up 5.2%), an EBIT of EUR 50.3 million (2007: EUR 47.1 million, up 6.8%) and an EBITDA of EUR 57.8 million (2007: EUR 53.9 million, up 7.3%). The Management Board assesses fiscal 2008 as a very good year. At the end of March 2009, after the annual financial statements have been finalised, the company will present the Group profit, earnings per share and a dividend proposal.
Ticketing: Revenue increased by 37.4% and EBIT by 30.1% The significantly higher revenue and earnings achieved by the Ticketing segment were mainly attributable to high-margin ticket sales via the Internet. The progressive shift in ticket sales towards online ordering is seen by the Management Board as a key growth driver, also in the years ahead. With revenue at EUR 120.2 million before consolidation of segments (2007: EUR 87.5 million, up 37.4%), a strongly improved EBIT figure of EUR 34.7 million was achieved (2007: EUR 26.6 million, up 30.1%). EBITDA came in at EUR 40.1 million (2007: EUR 32.0 million, up 25.3%). The volume of online sales grew to 9.6 million tickets (2007: 7.1 million tickets, up 35.2%), strongly confirming the Internet as the sales channel of the future. A total of 232 million visitors were logged in the course of 2008 by the CTS Group websites, especially the online portals at www.eventim.de and www.getgo.de. The additional companies included in consolidation and the expenses for implementing the partnership with Live Nation led, as expected, to reduced earnings margins in the 2008 business year.
Live
Live Entertainment: Strong market position despite slight declines in revenu
As expected, the Live Entertainment segment did not quite match the record figures achieved the year before. This was due to a slightly smaller number of concerts and tours. Revenue in 2008 amounted to EUR 288.0 million (2007: EUR 301.3 million, down 4.4%), while EBIT came in at EUR 15.7 million (2007: EUR 20.5 million, down 23.4%) and EBITDA at EUR 17.7 million (2007: EUR 21.8 million, down 19.0%). Start-up costs for new types of event reduced earnings by EUR 2 million over the reporting period.
Outlook: World-class programme of concerts in 2009 as well The Management Board expects demand for tickets to the concerts and tours offered by CTS to remain consistently high during the current business year. Over the next few months, international stars such as Bruce Springsteen, Depeche Mode, Madonna, Pink, AC/DC and Coldplay will be performing concerts in Germany in what are sure to be sold-out halls and stadiums. The company will continue to focus on consistent growth of its Internet ticketing operations and on international expansion. The most recent acquisition was in September 2008, when CTS took over Lippupiste OY, the Finnish ticketing company.
The Annual Report will be available on the Internet at www.eventim.de in both German and English, in an online version and in download form, from 31 March 2009 onwards.