CTS EVENTIM maintains growth

Munich, 22.02.2011. CTS EVENTIM AG, listed in the SDAX index (ISIN DE 0005470306), achieved yet another substantial increase in revenue in the 2010 financial year and further consolidated its position as Europe’s market leader in the Ticketing and Live Entertainment segments. The ticketing business for music, cultural and sports event proved to be exceedingly robust and sustainable in a difficult business environment. 
 
In the period from 1 January to 31 December 2010, the CTS Group generated EUR 519.6 million in revenue (2009: EUR 466.7 million, up 11.3%), a normalised EBITDA of EUR 95.8 million (2009: EUR 80.0 million, up 19.8%) and a normalised EBIT before amortisation relating to the purchase price allocation (Ticketcorner Holding AG and See Tickets Germany GmbH) of EUR 85.7 million (2009: EUR 71.3 million, up 20.2%). Due to the acquisition of Ticketcorner Holding AG and See Tickets Germany GmbH and the pending arbitration proceedings against Live Nation, the operating profit is temporarily reduced by acquisition/integration costs and legal consultancy expenses. After accounting for these special effects, the EBITDA amounts to EUR 88.0 million and the EBIT to EUR 70.6 million. The Group net income, the earnings per share and a dividend proposal will be presented by the Management Board at the end of March 2011, after finalisation of the annual financial statements. 
 
In the Ticketing segment, organic growth in the core European markets and a number of successful acquisitions resulted in a substantial 27.1% increase in revenue to EUR 193.9 million before consolidation between the segments, compared to EUR 152.5 million in 2009. In 2010, CTS EVENTIM sold 17.1 million tickets via the Internet alone – a year-on-year increase of around 28% (2009: 13.4 million). Around 360 million visits to the online Eventim portals were logged (2009: 303 million). The impacts of the aforementioned special effects were confined to the Ticketing segment. Normalised EBITDA was 25.1% higher at EUR 69.3 million (2009: EUR 55.4 million), while normalised EBIT before amortisation relating to the purchase price allocation rose 24.7% to EUR 61.2 million (2009: EUR 49.0 million). After accounting for special effects, the EBITDA figure was EUR 61.5 million and the EBIT figure EUR 46.1 million.  
 
In the Live Entertainment segment, the record performance achieved in 2009 was surpassed in the 2010 financial year. Revenue improved to EUR 333.8 million (2009: EUR 318.7 million, up 4.7%). EBITDA increased 8.1% to EUR 26.5 million (2009: EUR 24.5 million), EBIT was 10.3% higher at EUR 24.5 million (2009: EUR 22.2 million). Success in this field is rooted in the wide range of outstanding events on offer, from rock, pop and sport to musicals and festivals, and in the creation of new types of events. 
 
In 2011, the Group will retain its focus on the continuous growth of Internet ticketing operations, on international expansion and on integrating its newly acquired companies. The Management Board expects the Group to progress well in the current financial year and to achieve yet another improvement in revenue and earnings.