Live Nation Entertainment delivered its fifth consecutive year of
record revenue, profitability and free cash flow in 2015, but these
overwhelmingly positive earnings figures were released on a “constant
currency basis,” an approach which eliminates the volatility of exchange
rate fluctuations, not an uncommon practice for international
companies.
On a “generally accepted accounting principles” basis,
or GAAP, Live Nation reported revenue of $7.24 billion, “which compares
to our $7.08 billion estimate,” says analyst Rich Tullo, director of
research at Albert Fried & Company. “Operating income [of] $131
million missed our estimate of $180 million, [which] might be an issue
with foreign exchange.”
The
company cites on-site advertising as its prime growth driver for the
year, with growth in that division at 17 percent for the year.
Even
so, attendance to its concerts drives the whole Live Nation model, and
tickets sold are tickets sold around the globe, and not subject to
fluctuation. In that respect, Live Nation excelled last year, growing
attendance by 8 percent to a record 63 million fans. Live Nation
promoted a dominant share of the biggest tours of 2015, including major
runs by U2, Madonna, One Direction, Luke Bryan, Fleetwood Mac, Ariana Grande, and many others. Additonally,
Live Nation is now the leading festival operator in the world, greatly
expanding its festival footprint in North America in 2015 with the
acquisitions of Bonnaroo and C3 Presents coming to bear.
“I
will say that [Live Nation] overall did very well,” says Tullo, who
adds that Live Nation’s results were influenced by a strong U.S. dollar,
“making international results look weak when, in fact, the volume
-- despite the Paris terror attacks -- [was] good.”
Live
Nation’s Ticketmaster division moved more than 530 million tickets in
2015, for record 12 percent growth in global gross transaction value
[GVT] for a total GVT of $25 billion from primary and secondary
combined. Secondary ticketing, which TM is now operating in 13
countries, delivered 34 percent growth in GTV for the year to $1.2
billion at constant currency in 2015, primarily driven by Ticketmaster’s
TM+ secondary ticketing solution. “Fans have continued to say their
main goal is simply to get a ticket to the show or game they want,” says
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino in the earnings release, “and, as a
result, integrated inventory conversion was 38 percent higher than
primary only offerings.”
Despite increased competition in the
ticketing sector, Rapino says Ticketmaster grew its client base each
year for the past five years, “and combining the primary and secondary
marketplaces has substantially increased the inventory available to
fans.”
He
adds that heavy investment in online and mobile products has led to
increased visits and conversion. “As a result, already in 2016 we have
had three days selling over 900,000 tickets, placing them among the top
15 days of all time, [and] setting us up to deliver robust growth in
ticket sales for the year,” Rapino says.
The live business is
“elevated, not threatened, by technology, and is borderless,” Rapino
says. “Fans around the world can now discover, follow, share and embrace
artists, creating greater demand for live shows.”
Rapino tells
investors that the live business sector “will continue to have strong
growth for years to come, as fans globally drive demand, artists are
motivated to tour, and technology drives conversion." He also touts
robust artist development that “continues to re-energize the business,”
pointing out that 13 of Live Nation’s top 20 ticket sellers were new
from the previous year.
"We plan
on holding more concerts for more fans in more countries than ever
before. We expect to sell more advertising, both onsite and online. And
through continued product innovation at Ticketmaster, we plan on selling
more tickets and driving increased conversion," writes CEO
Michael Rapino in a statement. To that end, the company acquired Big Concerts three days ago (Feb. 22), South Africa's leading promoter.
So
far this year, Live Nation says that, through Feb. 19, ticket sales are
up 5 percent year-on-year, driven by 18 percent growth in amphitheaters
and 47 percent growth in stadiums.
Correction, Feb. 25, 5:57 p.m. ET:
This story originally pointed to Live Nation having earned $7.6 billion
in revenue at a constant currency basis, which is not inaccurate.
However this figure has been replaced with the company's reported
revenue of $7.2 billion.
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