CTS Eventim has posted the financial results of its first fiscal quarter (Q1 2019).
For the three months ended March 31st, 2019, the German live entertainment company’s revenue totaled €282.7 million ($316.1 million). This represents a 3% jump over the €274.5 million ($339.3 million at the historic exchange rate) reported in the same period last year.
CTS Eventim’s normalized earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) also jumped 3.1% to €57.1 million ($63.9 million).
The company attributed the strong jump in revenue and EBITDA to its ticketing and live entertainment divisions.
Ticketing revenue for the first quarter of 2019 increased 2.6% to €104.1 million ($116.4 million). CTS Eventim explained fewer major tours with high-priced tickets went into pre-sale compared to the same period last year. The company sold 12.7 million total tickets in Q1 2019, up 4.3% over the same period last year.
CTS Eventim also achieved growth in the live entertainment segment, with sales increasing 4.1% to €182.2 million ($203.8 million). Normalized EBITDA also grew 1.6% to €15.2 million ($17 million). The company explained startup costs for the Doctor Music Festival – following a 21-year hiatus – negatively impacted its normalized EBITDA for Q1 2019.
Last March, CTS Eventim bundled its promoter activities into its pan-European network Eventim Live, based in London. The network currently has 26 promoters in ten countries. The company’s tour business in Germany and the Lanxess Arena in Cologne have also had a strong start this year.
Speaking about the company’s strong financial results, Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CTS Eventim’s CEO, explained,
“CTS Eventim has delivered a successful start to the year.”
“As expected, our ticketing business didn’t grow as strongly at the beginning of the year as it did in the very successful first quarter of 2018. Meanwhile, our revenue growth is fueled by both segments, and has accelerated in the second quarter, especially in ticketing.”
He added the company’s full-year outlook “remains positive,” due in large part to its strong start this past fiscal quarter.