Live entertainment giant CTS Eventim has posted “encouraging” financial results for Q3 2021, powered by improved ticket sales.

The Munich-based pan-European promoter and ticketing company saw consolidated revenue rise by 279.2% to €114.7 million, compared with €30.2m in the same period last year. Revenue for 2021 to date fell 21.3% year-on-year to €180m, since Q1 2020 was barely affected by the pandemic.

Revenue from the company’s live entertainment segment soared by 351.2% to €55.7m in the third quarter of 2021 (up from €12.4m in the equivalent period last year), while ticketing surged 225.5% to €61m, compared with €18.7m in Q3 2020.

Ticket sales accelerated at the start of the second half of 2021, boosted by presales for tours by major international artists including Ed Sheeran, Genesis and Coldplay, as well as German rock act Udo Lindenberg.

Around 400,000 tickets have been sold for Sheeran’s German dates alone, the firm reports. However, the coronavirus situation meant the number of events was still down sharply compared with pre-pandemic levels.

WE RECORDED AN ENCOURAGING INCREASE IN REVENUE IN THE THIRD QUARTER

“We recorded an encouraging increase in revenue in the third quarter,” says CTS Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg. “In recent months, we have also forged ahead with our international expansion plans and ensured that CTS Eventim is even better prepared for the future by launching new digital products.”

Normalised EBITDA was €105.4m compared to a loss of €17.7 million 12 months earlier. The firm attributes the turnaround to “cost savings, an improved operating business and the government aid programmes introduced in Germany and other countries”.

CTS received “extraordinary” Covid-19 financial aid from the German federal government for November and December 2020, with €102m in government funding awarded “to strengthen the result for the current financial year and the company’s liquidity”.

Last month, CTS strengthened its position in the access control market with the acquisition of software and hardware developer Simply-X, one of the leading providers of event management products in Germany. The firm also announced its expansion into the North American ticketing market in September.

At the time of writing, CTS’ share price was down 2.64% to €62.04.