CTS Eventim Has Strong Quarterly Earnings
CTS Eventim finished the second quarter of 2025 boasting growth in group revenues, as well as a slight decline of its adjusted EBITDA. When looking at the group’s individual business segments, it becomes clear that the performance of the ticketing segment offset a decline in the live entertainment segment.
Revenue for the first half of 2025 grew by 7.6% compared with the prior-year period to reach €1.294 billion ($1.507 billion). Adjusted EBITDA declined by 0.8% to €200.5 million ($233.5 million). The adjusted EBITDA margin was 15.5 percent.
In the second quarter, consolidated group revenue grew by 0.3% year on year to €795.6 million ($926.6 million). Adjusted EBITDA diminished by 8.9% to €100.2 million ($116.7 million) over the same period, putting the adjusted EBITDA margin at 12.6%.
The earnings statement released today says of the group results: “Despite a macroeconomic environment characterised by persistent volatility, CTS Eventim achieved a new record level of revenue in the first half of the year. Factors driving the year-on-year change in adjusted EBITDA included organic growth and organic margin improvement in the Ticketing segment as well as substantial cost pressure in the Live Entertainment segment and temporary integration effects relating to recent acquisitions.”
As usual, the company breaks down its results by its ticketing and live entertainment segments, and, in ticketing, growth was achieved in terms of revenue and adjusted EBITDA in both the second quarter and first half of 2025.
In the first six months of 2025, revenue in the Ticketing segment grew by 16.1% to €415.7 million ($484.1 million). Adjusted EBITDA rose by 6.6% to €166.8 million ($194.3 million). The adjusted EBITDA margin stood at 40.1%.
Ticketing revenue in the second quarter of 2025 was up by 15.4% compared with the prior-year period at €202.1 million ($235.4 million). Adjusted EBITDA for April to June improved by 6.5% compared with the second quarter of 2024, reaching €78.1 million ($91 million). The adjusted EBITDA margin was 38.6%.
The results in CTS Eventim’s ticketing segment, by the company’s own admission, demonstrate “the power and scalability of its technologies and business models. More than half of the ten bestselling events in the second quarter were from international markets. The organic growth of the business and the associated improvement in profitability on a like-for-like basis particularly highlight the strength of CTS Eventim’s position in the current market environment.”
Further growth in earnings was being “temporarily held back by the ongoing integrations of See Tickets and of France Billet.” Once the integration processes are completed, meaning no further integration expenses are incurred, CTS Eventim expects to unlock “enduring positive synergy effects.”
In the Live Entertainment segment, revenue increased year-on-year in the first half of 2025. The legendary Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals, each of which celebrated significant anniversaries this year, were sold out.
“In spite of headwinds in some European markets, the segment was able to advance overall. The venue business within the Live Entertainment segment reported revenue and earnings on a par with the strong prior-year period,” the earnings release states.
A key driver of these half-year results was “the consistently high capacity utilisation of the venues operated by CTS Eventim. However, intense and persistent cost pressures had an impact on adjusted EBITDA in both periods under review,” as did the “additional reorganisation and consolidation expenses in connection with the integration of the U-Live companies.”
Compared with the prior-year period, revenue in the live entertainment segment rose by 3.3% in the first half of 2025, reaching €894.4 million ($1.042 billion). Adjusted EBITDA came to €33.7 million ($39.2 million) and was thus 26.1% down compared with the first half of 2024, causing the adjusted EBITDA margin to fall to 3.8%.
Looking at the second quarter alone, revenue in live entertainment was down by 4.5% year-on-year at €602.5 million ($701.7 million). The adjusted EBITDA for this period amounted to €22.1 million ($25.7 million), a decline of 39.7% compared with the second quarter of 2024. As a result, the adjusted EBITDA margin fell to 3.7%.
The results, in the company’s own estimation, show that “while momentum in the global market was muted overall, CTS Eventim was able to further consolidate its position and grow profitably.”
See: See Tickets US Rebranded As EVENTIM Following 2024 Acquisition
For the time being, CTS Eventim’s executive board is upholding the forecast published in its annual report 2024 for the group in 2025 as a whole, “even though the challenging macroeconomic picture constitutes a source of uncertainty.”
Areas of focus for CTS Eventim, alongside the ongoing integration processes of recently acquires businesses, include refining its structures and processes in its product & tech segment. “New responsibilities in software engineering, enterprise architecture and tech operations ensure that the business can provide ever more powerful, secure and innovative systems, platforms and solutions that continue to set industry benchmarks. This provides the basis for the CTS Eventim Group to further strengthen its market position at national and international level,” the earnings statement reads.
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of CTS Eventim, commented, “Our results underscore the strength and enduring competitiveness of our business model. This strong performance was driven by organic business growth as well as by positive contributions from recent acquisitions. Thanks to our focused internationalisation and innovation strategy, we are excellently positioned to achieve sustainable
growth in a challenging market environment.”
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