CTS EVENTIM starts 2012 financial year with earnings growth

Munich, 21.05.2012. CTS EVENTIM AG, listed in the SDAX index (ISIN DE0005470306), succeeded in further consolidating its leading position in the European ticketing market and live events industry in the first quarter of fiscal 2012. The Group achieved a good start to the new business year with a 12.8% boost in revenue and a 26,7% improvement in EBITDA. For the year as a whole, the Management Board expects growth in both revenue and earnings. 
 
In the period from 1 January to 31 March 2012, the CTS Group generated EUR 113.9 million in revenue (Q1/2011: EUR 101.0 million, up 12.8%), a normalised EBITDA of EUR 25.5 million (Q1/2011: EUR 23.6 million, up 8.4%) and a normalised EBIT of EUR 22.5 million before amortisation from purchase price allocation (Ticketcorner Group and See Tickets Germany / Ticket Online Group) (Q1/2011: EUR 20.7 million, up 8.8%). Non-recurring items, resulting from acquisition costs, workforce restructuring and legal consultancy expenses relating to ongoing arbitration proceedings against Live Nation, did not arise in the first quarter of 2012. EBITDA after these non-recurring items was 26.7% higher at EUR 25.5 million (Q1/2011: EUR 20.2 million), and EBIT increased 35.0% to EUR 19.9 million (Q1/2011: EUR 14.7 million). 
 
The Ticketing segment generated EUR 53.1 million in revenue (before consolidation between segments) (Q1/2011: EUR 54.8 million). This slight year-on-year decrease is attributable to the comparatively high figure for Q1/2011, which was mainly due to the ticketing operation for the FIFA 2011 Women’s World Cup in Germany. CTS EVENTIM nevertheless achieved a new earnings record – normalised EBITDA amounted to EUR 21.0 million (Q1/2011: EUR 18.6 million, up 12.7%), with a margin of 39.6% compared to 34.0% in Q1/2011. Normalised EBIT, before amortisation from purchase price allocation, was up 13.6% year-on-year at EUR 18.5 million (Q1/2011: EUR 16.3 million). Integration of acquisitions is fully on target, with the resultant scale effects now manifested in the earnings figures. The highly profitable online ticketing business also contributed to this improvement in earnings with an Internet ticketing volume of 4.8 million tickets, which is about the same level as in Q1/2011. After the non-recurring items, EBITDA was 37.7% higher at EUR 21.0 million (Q1/2011: EUR 15.3 million), while EBIT increased 53.7% to EUR 15.9 million (Q1/2011: EUR 10.3 million). 
 
In the Live Entertainmentsegment, strong revenue growth was achieved in the first quarter of 2012 with a large number of events. Revenue rose to EUR 62.7 million, a year-on-year increase of 30.0% (Q1/2011: EUR 48.2 million). EBITDA remained almost constant at EUR 4.9 million (Q1/2011: EUR 4.9 million, up 0.2%), as did the EBIT figure, which rose 0.1% to EUR 4.4 million (Q1/2011: EUR 4.4 million). 
 
In 2012, the Group will remain focused on the continuous growth of Internet ticketing operations, on international expansion and on integrating its newly acquired companies. The Management Board also expects revenue and earnings growth for the year 2012 as a whole.