Financial Growth in 2024
Living events and the Ticket company CTS Eventim reported an annual income increase of 19.1%, along with a similar rise in adjusted EBITDA, driven by both organic growth and the integration of several acquisitions in the 4th quarter of 2024.
For the calendar year of 2024, Bremen, Germany, recorded 2.809 billion euros or 3.04 billion US dollars at the average exchange rate for 2024.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 21.9% year to € 542.2 million (586.8 million dollars), with the adjusted EBITDA margin growing to 19.3% from 18.9% the previous year.
Acquisitions and Market Position
“Growing demand, organic growth, constant synergies, and a successful international acquisition strategy are the pillars of our reliable growth,” stated general director Klaus-Peter Shulenberg.
CTS Eventim, which positions itself as the leading live events and ticketing company in Europe and the second worldwide, noted that several recent acquisitions contributed to its income in the 4th quarter of 2024.
Significantly, this includes the acquisition of See Tickets, a major ticket sales operation in the UK and the USA. CTS acquired See Tickets from Vivendi last year for € 300 million (approximately 322.6 million dollars).
Additionally, two Latin American ticket companies were acquired: Chile’s Punto Ticket and Peru’s Telecy, at the end of 2023.
The company’s portfolio also includes France Harvesting, the ticket company in which CTS Eventim took a minority stake in 2019. By the end of 2024, CTS acquired an additional 17% stake, giving it majority control.
However, Germany continues to be the largest market, accounting for nearly half of the income, with Italy following closely behind as the second largest market.
Ticket Sales and Live Entertainment
In ticketing, the company reported a revenue increase of 22.7% year, reaching € 879.9 million (952.3 million dollars), with adjusted EBITDA rising 21.1% year to € 416.5 million (450.8 million dollars).
The company sold 103.4 million tickets online in 2024, compared to 82.9 million in the previous year.
In the live entertainment segment, income increased by 17.6% year to € 1.971 billion (2.133 billion dollars), with adjusted EBITDA rising 24.4% to € 125.6 million (135.9 million dollars), despite ongoing pressure from rising costs in infrastructure, staff, and fees.
CTS Eventim is also focusing on expanding its venue portfolio. The company has announced the opening of Arena Milano at the end of this year, which will be the largest arena in Italy, along with plans for a new arena in Vienna, where CTS secured the tender last year.
“The goal of both projects is for CTS Eventim to manage these venues in the long term, thereby creating a highly profitable business that offers numerous synergies with our other events,” the profit report indicates.
“Our role as an official partner for ticket sales for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in collaboration with Axes, as well as for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter and Paralympic Games through our Italian subsidiary Ticket, highlights our expertise in large-scale projects of global significance.”
Overall, while CTS Eventim lags behind the global leader Live Nation, it has narrowed the gap in 2024. Live Nation, headquartered in the United States, reported income of $ 23.16 billion in 2024, over seven times CTS Eventim’s income, although Live Nation’s revenue growth was only 3% year.
“We ensure that – in addition to our technologies – our processes and business models have become excellent exports,” said Shulenberg. “They form the foundation on which we will integrate future acquisitions more rapidly, capitalize on synergies sooner, and enhance our success and appeal as a partner for international acquisitions and investments.”
Despite the strong growth in 2024, the company anticipates a “moderate” increase in revenue and adjusted EBITDA for 2025, referencing a recent forecast from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) that predicts 3.0% year growth for the entertainment and media industry in Germany in 2025.
