Live Nation Turns A Profit In 2nd Quarter

Improving ticket sales, more profitable concerts, and growing ad revenue all helped Live Nation swing into the black in the second quarter, beating analyst predictions. Net income for Live Nation was $13.3 million for the quarter, up from a loss of $32.8 million in Q2 2010. Revenue increased by 23 percent to $1.56 billion, handily beating analyst projections of $1.31bn.

Revenue from concerts was up to $1,082.2 billion, up from $859.5 million in Q2 2010, an increase of 25.9% while ticketing also saw improvement at $283.8 million, up from 264.4 year on, an improvement of 7.3%.

ArtistNation and Live Nation's eCommerce division both posted strong quarters as well, with revenue of $118.4m, up 33.5% from Q2 2010 and $37.4m, up by 97.9% from 2010, respectively.

Despite Live Nation's stated plan of producing fewer, more profitable concerts, they estimated that they total number of North American live events in Q2 was 4,243, up from 3,671 in the same period, 2010. Ancillary net revenue per attendee was up as well, to $19.21 versus $18.57 in Q2 2010.

Ticket sales also increased to 17.6 million for the quarter, up from 15.5 million for the same quarter last year.

"2011 has shown solid performance for two quarters, with improved results across most of our key financial metrics, providing the basis for profit growth over the full year. The company is now delivering strong results, with growth driven through increased ticket sales, improved show profitability in Concerts and growth in our advertising businesses," said Michael Rapino, President and Chief Executive Officer of Live Nation Entertainment.

"We are seeing the global ticketing business stabilize and concert business grow year-over-year, and we remain optimistic about continued growth opportunities in the industry long term. In addition to delivering this year's results, we remain focused on strategically expanding our global presence, innovating our ticketing platform and maximizing ticket sales, while carefully managing our costs." Rapino added. – CelebrityAccess