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| Live Nation Reports Strong Third Quarter Results |
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Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) released financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2009 today.
“We generated robust organic growth from our operations during the third quarter as we focused on executing our fundamentals with excellence during the peak concert season,” said Michael Rapino, President and Chief Executive Officer of Live Nation.
“Our dedication to driving efficiencies across our core operations helped drive solid free cash flow of $123 million in the third quarter as we continue to focus on reducing our overall leverage. Our ability to generate strong attendance growth of 12% despite the worst economic climate in decades speaks to the strength of our concert platform and our ongoing focus on improving how we promote, price and distribute live music products to millions of fans globally.” “The launch of our new e-commerce ticketing site has allowed us to start vertically integrating into a high-growth sector and improve our core business of selling more tickets directly to fans,” Rapino continued. “There is more that we want to do, but Livenation.com is already a highly ranked music destination attracting millions of fans daily, seeking tickets and information on their favorite concerts.Despite a challenging advertising environment, we have also grown our sponsorship revenue by almost 5% year-to-date which illustrates our ability to connect brands, concerts and music fans. With these growth levers, along with our disciplined approach to cost management, we believe that we are well-positioned to deliver healthy gains in our annual cash flows with a priority on reducing our long-term debt and strengthening our balance sheet.
Highlights • Recently completed the sale of our remaining U.K. theater assets, in two transactions, for aggregate gross sales proceeds of approximately $160 million. Half of the net proceeds, currently estimated at approximately $111million, will be applied as a permanent reduction in our term loans. • Through our LiveNation.com network, we have sold 10.6 million tickets globally since the beginning of 2009,including 3.0 million tickets sold in the third quarter of 2009. This total for the year includes 1.7 million tickets sold internationally. • We had continued success with our “No Service Fee Wednesday” promotion, selling over 816,000 tickets in North America through this program during 2009. • Our LiveNation.com network was ranked 5th by Nielsen Net View among the most-visited domestic music websites, with 5.0 million unique visitors in the month of July. Traffic to our website has increased by over 55%in the first nine months of the year as compared to last year. • Reported revenue of $1.8 billion for the third quarter reflects an increase of $220 million over the third quarter of2008. Revenue on a constant currency basis was up 19% over the prior year. • Sponsorship revenue totaled $78.5 million during the third quarter, an increase of 4.4% over the prior year. In October 2009, Live Nation formed a multi-year strategic sponsorship and marketing alliance with Coca-Cola that leverages the company’s artist-to-fan distribution platform. • Income from continuing operations for the third quarter was $79.2 million as compared to $30.7 million in 2008,after adjusting 2008 for the tax benefit of $64.1 million recorded in continuing operations related to discontinued operations. For the first nine months of 2009, the loss from continuing operations was ($50.8) million as compared to ($59.6) million in 2008, after adjusting 2008 for the tax benefit of $83.1 million recorded in continuing operations related to discontinued operations. • We continue the process of seeking regulatory approval for our pending merger with Ticketmaster Entertainment,Inc. and we currently expect that this transaction will be completed in the first quarter of 2010. For the third quarter of 2009, we incurred $7.8 million of acquisition transaction expenses. These costs are now required to be expensed under new accounting rules in 2009 and therefore reduced our operating income for the period. Related Articles: Live Nation Unloads U.K. Theatre Division for Approximately U.S. $160 Million Live Nation
, the world's largest live music company, recently announced that it has
closed the sale of its remaining U.K. theatrical venues and operations
to The Ambassador Theatre Group, an owner and operator of regional
theatres in the United Kingdom. In addition, on October 23, 2009,... MTV Responds to Reports About 'MTV EMAs Present U2 at the Brandenburg Gate' MTV wants to ensure that the 10,000 music fans expected to attend tonight's production enjoy a safe and happy experience. The safety and well-being of all attendees at any MTV produced event
is of the highest priority. MTV worked closely with our local promoter
DEAG, the Borough of Berlin and the... Live Nation, Ticketmaster profits take a hit due to Proposed Merger
Live Nation and Ticketmaster
Entertainment Inc. both stated that their earnings were hurt by
costs related to the proposed deal, which is expected to continue into 2010 as
regulators examine antitrust issues.
Comcast Jumps into Ticketmaster Live Nation Merger Fray According to recent reports from Bloomberg, Comcast is looking to help ease the Ticketmaster Live Nation merger by massaging and lobbying for the marriage. Comcast is the largest U.S. cable operator and controls an
arena-management as well as a ticketing company.
Concert Videos Come to iTunes in Live Nation-Apple deal Apple iTunes on Tuesday began featuring downloads of live concerts by about 20 artists who are promoted by Live Nation.
Seven Per Cent Drop in German Live Entertainment The German live entertainment market experienced a 7% drop in revenue
in 2008, according to research commissioned by the German Federal
Association of the live entertainment industry. The decline was even
sharper - 9% - in live music.
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