CTS Eventim’s annual revenue soared in 2021

CTS Eventim has reported a 60% increase in annual revenue during 2021.

The Munich-based pan-European promoter and ticketing company saw consolidated revenue rise by 58.8% to €407.8 million, compared to €256.8m in 2020.

According to CTS, the increase was driven mainly by a resurgence in ticket sales, with artists such as Ed Sheeran, Genesis and Udo Lindenberg among the bestsellers.

“The number of events on offer in our ticketing systems is increasing with each new day – a clear sign of growing confidence within the events industry, and we anticipate that festivals and large-open air events will begin to resume from the second quarter onwards, after an enforced break of two years,” says Klaus Peter Schulenberg, CEO of CTS Eventim.

The financial results also revealed a normalised EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) for 2021, rising to €208m (previous year: loss of €2.9m).

“The number of events on offer in our ticketing systems is increasing with each new day”

CTS chalks this up to cost savings, an improved operating business and extensive government aid of around €157m.

Consolidated revenue for the fourth quarter of 2021, meanwhile, was up to €227.8m, compared with €28.1m in the equivalent period of the previous year. Normalised EBITDA for the quarter amounted to €102.6m (previous year: €14.8m).

In the ticketing segment, revenue for 2021 as a whole improved by 77% to €224.1m (previous year: €126.6m). Normalised EBITDA stood at €177.1m, following a loss of €23.6m in 2020. In the fourth quarter of 2021, there was an increase in revenue to €113.5m (previous year: €19.5m), while normalised EBITDA rose to €85.8m (previous year: loss of €11.0m).

Annual revenue in the live entertainment segment advanced by 39.7% in 2021 to reach €191.1m (previous year: €136.8m). Normalised EBITDA for the segment came to €30.9m (previous year: €20.7m). In the last three months of the reporting year, revenue generated by live entertainment improved to €117.0m, compared with €9.5m in the final quarter of 2020. The segment’s normalised EBITDA for the fourth quarter totalled €16.8m (previous year: €25.8m).

“These financial results provide further evidence of the strength and financial stability of the group,” says Schulenberg. “2021 was also a year in which key strategic initiatives strengthened our international position.”

“These financial results provide further evidence of the strength and financial stability of the group”

In 2021, CTS launched Singapore-based Eventim Live Asia, entered the North American ticketing market and announced plans for a new 16,000-capacity arena in Milan, Italy.

In the same year, the live entertainment giant also acquired software and hardware developer Simply-X and regional ticketing providers Kölnticket and Bonnticket.

In addition, the tickets for Ed Sheeran’s European tour were the first to be sold by CTS Eventim exclusively through its proprietary digital ticket, Eventim.Pass.

Elsewhere, EMC Presents, a joint venture established with US promoter Michael Cohl in 2020, organised the group’s first tour in the US at the end of 2021 with Genesis as the headline act.

The company says it is “optimistic” about its prospects for 2022 after two pandemic-hit years, and believes it is “well-positioned” for a restart of the live entertainment sector.

At the time of writing, CTS Eventim’s share price is up 1.38% to €60.06.

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