CTS Eventim projects €2bn+ revenue for 2023

Pan-European live entertainment giant CTS Eventim is projecting group revenue in excess of €2 billion for 2023 after delivering a strong quarter led by its ticketing division.

The company credits impressive presales for tours by acts such as Taylor Swift and Peter Maffay, along with the volume and variety of events on offer, for driving a 35% rise in year-on-year ticket sales for the first nine months of this year.

The German ticketing segment witnessed growth of 43%, with the firm’s global network also up 31% in the same period.

Following the release of its preliminary Q3 figures, CTS now expects “the group’s revenue for 2023 as a whole to be significantly higher than €2 billion”, with normalised EBITDA of “well above €400 million”.

“This means that operating profit for 2023 will be up sharply compared with the prior-year figure, which itself had been at a high level thanks to catch-up effects resulting from the pandemic,” adds a company statement. “The forecast is based on the assumption that there will be no substantial negative effects on current or future business performance during the remainder of 2023.”

CTS announced it had surpassed €1bn revenue within the first six months of a financial year for the first time

The group’s full quarterly statement for the period ending 30 September 2023 will be published on 21 November. Its share price was down slightly to €55.35 this morning.

In its previous set of financial results covering H1 2023, released in August, CTS announced it had surpassed €1bn revenue within the first six months of a financial year for the first time. The German-headquartered business reported growth across all segments for January to June 2023, with revenue in its ticketing division climbing 41% year-on-year to €284.6 million.

Earlier this week, CTS appointed experienced manager, architect and project developer Arne Fritz to the newly created role of VP venues & real estate. Fritz, who will report to Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, will take over some tasks from EVP Rainer Appel, who is planning to gradually move into a consulting role next year.

Fritz’s responsibilities will include strategically developing CTS’ real estate portfolio to “sustainably strengthen its value chain” as well as overseeing the construction of the firm’s €180 million multi-purpose Arena for Milan in Italy.

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