Live Nation Reports Strong Growth, Stock Climbs

Live music continues to be the music industry's one real bright spot; and last night, stock of concert and ticketing giant Live Nation shot up 2.9% after the company delivered a strong earnings report.

___________________________________

On Monday, Live Nation Entertainment released their financial results for the second quarter, posting $1.8 billion in revenue, up by 12% from the same period in 2014. Overall adjusted operating income was up as well, with the company reporting $151.2 million, up by 6% from the previous year.

The company's results were led by the strength of their concert business, which posted 1.3bn in revenue for the quarter, up by 14% from the same period last year. As well, Live Nation reported that they have completed more than 75% of their projected ticket sales for 2015 and through July, are 7% ahead of last year's sales. The company produced approximately 75% of the top 25 global tours in 2015, including U2, Imagine Dragons, Lady Antebellum and One Direction.

In addition to attendance growth, Live Nation said that they have also grown per-fan on-site revenue this year by 18% to over $20 per fan in their amphitheaters and festivals.

Live Nation produced 6,130 concerts in total during the quarter, 4,332 in North America and 1,798 events outside of the U.S.

The company's Ticketmaster division saw mixed results, with revenue up slightly to $377.9 million for the quarter, just 2% ahead of Q2 2014, but AOI slid in same period, down by 1% to $76.1 million.

Live Nation's sponsorship & advertising business also reported a strong quarter, with the company reporting that they have sold over 80% of our planned sponsorship & advertising for the year. The unit posted revenue of 85.4 million for the quarter, up by 20% from the previous year.

Conversely, the company's artist management operation Artist Nation, continued to weigh on results. While the division posted a revenue increase of 13% to $89.3 million for the quarter, the unit produced a net loss for the quarter reporting an net loss of 3.2 million.

"After growing the business in the first half of the year, we expect 2015 to be another year of growth and record results for the company, and we are confident that we will deliver the final year of our three-year plan. Based on the strong position of our leading indicators in concerts, sponsorship & advertising, and ticketing, operationally we expect revenue and AOI growth in each of these businesses and overall for Live Nation this year. And more fundamentally, we continue to see a wide set of both organic and acquisition opportunities to further grow each of our businesses beyond 2015, directly building on the success we have achieved to date," said Live Nation's President & CEO Michael Rapino.

via Celebrity Access