CTS Eventim AG & Co. KGaA (ETR:EVD) reported higher revenue and earnings for the first nine months of 2026, as growth in ticketing and improved profitability in live entertainment offset some of the costs of opening its Unipol Dome venue in Milan.
Group revenue rose more than 8% to over EUR 2.3 billion, while adjusted EBITDA increased more than 6% and EBIT climbed nearly 4%, Philipp, the company’s senior vice president of finance, said on the earnings call. Earnings per share rose 14% to EUR 1.78, helped by operating earnings growth and an improved financial result, mainly due to lower foreign exchange effects.
The company reiterated its full-year outlook without providing further guidance details. Management said it plans to discuss its outlook and operational excellence program at its Capital Markets Day in Milan the following week.
Ticketing Growth and Olympic Sales
Ticketing revenue increased more than 13% in the first nine months. On a like-for-like basis, excluding a prior-year contract change and this year’s LA28 Olympic Games effect, growth was in the mid-single digits, Philipp said.
Marco Haeckermann, vice president of investor relations and corporate development and strategy, said third-quarter like-for-like ticketing revenue growth was approximately 4%, or EUR 8 million. He said a favorable pricing mix was the main driver of growth during the quarter.
The second release of LA28 Olympic tickets generated revenue in the mid-EUR 20 million range, Haeckermann said. Philipp agreed with an analyst’s estimate that the release carried an EBITDA margin of 20% to 25%. Management said it did not expect another LA28 ticket release in the fourth quarter.
Ticketing’s adjusted EBITDA margin for the first nine months was 37%, according to a figure cited by an analyst. Philipp said the margin would have been around 40% excluding operational excellence costs. Haeckermann said those costs were running at almost EUR 5 million per quarter and that the company had budgeted a similar amount for the fourth quarter.
Haeckermann also said the lower-margin LA28 contract and the loss of high-margin revenue following a change to the Stage ticketing contract had weighed on the ticketing margin. He said there had been no structural change to the segment’s margin profile.
Live Entertainment Margins Improve
Live Entertainment revenue rose nearly 6% to EUR 1.65 billion in the first nine months. Third-quarter revenue fell from a strong year-earlier period that included an unusually large contribution from Ed Sheeran’s European tour, Philipp said.
For the second and third quarters combined, segment revenue was broadly in line with the prior year, while adjusted EBITDA rose to EUR 94 million from EUR 80 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin in core live entertainment, excluding venues, increased to 4% from 2.8%, reflecting portfolio management and cost reductions, he said.
Philipp said the company had shut down some festivals and continued to review its portfolio in pursuit of higher margins. He added that flat combined revenue growth for the summer quarters was not the company’s ambition and that he expected growth to resume next year.
The reported adjusted EBITDA margin for the venue business was 35%. Excluding one-off startup costs for Unipol Dome, the margin was in line with the prior year, Philipp said.
Haeckermann said the Milan venue’s ramp-up reduced third-quarter EBITDA by a low-single-digit million-euro amount. Its fourth-quarter calendar was full, management said, including an 11-concert residency by Italian artist Max Pezzali. Haeckermann said the company expected the venue to contribute in the fourth quarter and that positive effects elsewhere in Live Entertainment should balance the additional opening-related headwind.
Refund Adjustment
Philipp said CTS Eventim adjusted EBITDA for a EUR 7.2 million ticket refund expense after an event was canceled and an external promoter was unable to reimburse the company. He said the promoter was close to insolvency and described the situation as unusual, noting that promoters normally provide the money needed for refunds.
The company’s threshold for adjusting a single event is between EUR 5 million and EUR 6 million, depending on revenue, Philipp said. The effect remained in reported EBIT, he added.
About CTS Eventim AG & Co. KGaA (ETR:EVD)
CTS Eventim AG & Co. KGaA operates in the leisure events market in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the United States, Finland, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Ticketing and Live Entertainment. The Ticketing segment produces, sells, brokers, distributes, and markets tickets for concerts, theatre, art, sports, and other events. It markets events (tickets) through EVENTIM.Web and using its network platform, EVENTIM.Net; in-house ticketing products through EVENTIM.Inhouse; sport ticketing products through EVENTIM.Tixx; and self-service products for promotors through EVENTIM.Light, as well as provides a solution for ticket sales and admission control through EVENTIM.Access. This segment also operates kinoheld software for cinema operators; EVENTIM.fanSALE, a resale portal where customers sell event tickets to other customers; and online portals under various brands, such as eventim.de, oeticket.com, ticketcorner.ch, ticketone.it, and entradas.com. The Live Entertainment segment plans, prepares, and performs tours, events, and festivals, including music events and concerts, as well as markets music productions.
