Klaus-Peter Schulenberg (pictured) ­– the CEO of pan-Europe ticketing giant, promoter and venue operator CTS Eventim ­­– said the company is “optimally positioned for the return of live entertainment”.

The Munich-based organisation owns brands Eventim, Ticketcorner and Ticketone and operates several major venues in Europe including the 5,000-capacity Eventim Apollo in London.

It said ticketing revenue rose 283.7% during the second quarter of this year, from €9.4 million (£8m) during the same period in 2020, to €36.1m (£30.8m). Meanwhile, its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was €77.6m (£66.4m) compared to a loss of €18.2m (£15.6m) in last year’s quarter. This included around €73m (£62.5m) in German coronavirus support.

The company also saw its live entertainment revenue rise substantially in Q2 – up 81.5% year-on-year to €11.5m (£9.8m) from €6.3m (£5.4m). Normalised EBITDA amounted to €21.4m (£18.3m), up from €1.9m (£1.6m) the previous year. German coronavirus support contributed around €29m (£24.8m) to earnings.

“Ticket sales are recovering, which confirms our view that people are yearning for live entertainment after a year and a half of the pandemic,” said Schulenberg. “However, politicians must set out a framework so that it is economically viable for events to be held again. The government support is very helpful but the industry wants to finally be able to earn its money by returning to work.”

“CTS Eventim has taken the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to further strengthen and broaden its market position by undertaking a number of major strategic initiatives. Going forward, we will be better positioned than ever before, especially internationally, to be able to impress our customers with our services, industry expertise and technology in the live entertainment business.”