Industry News

CTS Eventim sees huge ticket sales growth in Q1

CTS Eventim saw double digit growth in revenue, earnings and ticket sales during the first quarter of 2017.

In a trading update, the company said group revenues grew by 27 per cent year-on-year to €207.4m (£180m/$230m).

Normalised group EBITDA was up 178 percent to €45.7m, with EBITDA margin at 22 per cent.

CTS Eventim, which owns ticketing brands such as Eventim.de and TicketOne, said ticketing and live entertainment segments both contributed to its success. The Munich-based group operates numerous tours and shows in Germany, such as Rock am Ring, as well as Switzerland and Austria, and is rapidly expanding its international promotional footprint. Its portfolio also includes venues such as London’s Eventim Apollo and major ticketing brands in 25 countries.

Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, chief executive of CTS Eventim, said: “CTS Eventim has got off to a superb start to the year 2017.

“We have achieved double-digit growth not only in revenues, but also in our operating earnings. Important strategic advancements have been made at the same time – for example in expanding our digital and international businesses.”

Ticketing is ‘key growth driver’

CTS Eventim generated revenue of €830m in total last year. In the first three months of 2017 the ticketing segment posted a nine per cent increase in revenue to reach €92.6m, and “remains the key growth driver”. CTS Eventim said normalised EBITDA rose “strongly” by 11.5 per cent to €36.5m because of the “sustained trend towards online ticketing”.

CTS Eventim sold a total of 10.8 million tickets via the internet in the first three months of 2017, which equates to a 14.6 per cent increase compared to Q1 2016.

The live entertainment section exceeded company expectations with revenue climbing 46 per cent to reach €116.3m.

Schulenberg said: “Given how business has progressed so far in 2017, we are confident that we will achieve our targets for the year. Compared to fiscal 2016, we expect higher revenues and operating earnings. We also intend to continue implementing our growth strategy successfully. This includes not only organic initiatives, such as boosting our eCommerce business, but also examining prospects for further acquisitions.”

CTS Eventim in March said it is to more than double the dividends it pays to shareholders this year after selling more than 43.7 million tickets in 2016.