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Exhibit 99.1

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

LIVE NATION REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2008 FINANCIAL RESULTS

- 2008 concert season begins with over 4,400 music events in first quarter -

LOS ANGELES – May 8, 2008 – Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) released financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2008 today.

 

Summary Results  

$ in millions (except per share amounts)

 
     Q1 2008     Q1 2007  

Revenue

   $ 636.5     $ 520.3  

Adjusted Operating Income (Loss)

   $ (2.1 )   $ (2.8 )

Operating Income (Loss)

   $ (38.5 )   $ (36.9 )

Free Cash Flow

   $ (24.0 )   $ (46.6 )

Net Income (Loss)

   $ (35.4 )   $ (45.0 )

Basic and Diluted EPS

   $ (0.47 )   $ (0.69 )

“The first quarter represented a solid start to what we believe will be a very healthy year for concerts globally,” said Michael Rapino, President and Chief Executive Officer of Live Nation. “Our ticket sales to date remain strong despite the slowdown in the economy. Our priorities for 2008 continue to be focused on improving the profitability of our core concert distribution platform, building our ticketing division for our 2009 launch and continuing to divest non-core assets to reduce debt.”

“We are pleased with our financial results which are in line with our plan in what is seasonally a slow quarter for us,” said Kathy Willard, Chief Financial Officer of Live Nation. “Due to earlier timing of ticket sales and continued control over maintenance-related capital expenditures, our cash balances and free cash flow have improved during the quarter, as well.”

Highlights:

 

   

Build-out of our ticketing initiative is in process and on schedule through our long-term agreement with CTS Eventim, through which we will exclusively license the Eventim platform in North America, and Eventim will provide back-office ticketing services in the United Kingdom and ticketing services across Europe.

 

 

 

Entered into strategic marketing alliance with Citi® that capitalizes on the company’s fully integrated music platform, including concerts, online ticketing and access to Live Nation Artists, to deliver a uniquely comprehensive live music experience to Citi® customers in the United States.

 

   

Acquired the operating company that manages and holds the 20-year lease for the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam. We believe that this 5,500-capacity venue is one of the most attended venues in the world.

 

   

Provided services through our Global Artists segment to 797 artists during the quarter. In addition, we have reached agreements to acquire long-term rights for Madonna, U2 and Jay-Z.

 

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Currently have 528 corporate sponsors on a local, national and international basis as of the first quarter of 2008.

 

   

Agreed to acquire a 65% interest in Mirage Productions, a leading promoter in Dubai. This acquisition is consistent with our strategy to expand into global markets in which we don’t currently have a significant presence.

 

   

Recorded 1.45 million unique visitors on LiveNation.com for Jonas Brothers’ information and tickets in one week, a new record for a single artist on the website.

Below are what we believe to be our key metrics related to our music businesses:

METRICS

 

(Unaudited)                         
Key Drivers    2007 Actual
Full Year
    Q1 2008     Q1 2007     Variance
(Qtr.)
 
Rights Acquisitions  

Total Direct Operating Expense (in millions)

   $ 3,017.2     $ 390.7     $ 280.6     39.2  %

Total Direct Operating Expense as % of Total Revenue

     81.6 %     78.3 %     74.7 %  

Number of Live Rights (Events) (est.)

     16,747       4,431       3,253     36.2  %

Number of Ancillary Live Rights (est.)

     1,865       797       n/a    
Distribution Platform  

Total Attendance (est.)

     46,438,000       6,327,000       6,109,000     3.6  %

Number of Sponsors (est.)

     1,201       528       640     (17.5 )%

Sponsorship Revenue Recognized (in millions)

   $ 215.0     $ 18.7     $ 18.6     0.4  %

Total Revenue per Attendee (Fan)

   $ 79.59     $ 78.85     $ 61.51     28.2  %

 

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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

 

     Q1 2008     Q1 2007     Growth              
     $ in millions              

Revenue

          

North American Music

   $ 300.1     $ 248.3     20.9  %    

International Music

     128.9       104.6     23.2  %    

Global Artists

     69.9       22.9     * *    

Global Digital

     5.7       1.3     * *    

Other and Eliminations

     131.9       143.2     (7.9 )%    
                          
   $ 636.5     $ 520.3     22.3  %    
                          
                       Margins  
                       Q1 2008     Q1 2007  

Adjusted Operating Income (Loss)

          

North American Music

   $ (16.9 )   $ (19.0 )   11.1  %   (5.6 )%   (7.7 )%

International Music

     1.0       0.6     66.7  %   0.8  %   0.6  %

Global Artists

     (9.0 )     (4.8 )   (87.5 )%   (12.9 )%   (21.0 )%

Global Digital

     (3.4 )     (1.8 )   (88.9 )%   * *   * *

Other and Eliminations

     35.5       30.8     15.3  %   26.9  %   21.5  %

Corporate

     (9.3 )     (8.6 )   (8.1 )%    
                                  
   $ (2.1 )   $ (2.8 )   25.0  %   (0.3 )%   (0.5 )%
                                  

Operating Income (Loss)

          

North American Music

   $ (32.6 )   $ (33.5 )   2.7  %   (10.9 )%   (13.5 )%

International Music

     (7.0 )     (4.0 )   (75.0 )%   (5.4 )%   (3.8 )%

Global Artists

     (17.7 )     (8.8 )   * *   (25.3 )%   (38.4 )%

Global Digital

     (3.9 )     (2.5 )   (56.0 )%   * *   * *

Other and Eliminations

     35.9       22.9     56.8  %   27.2  %   16.0  %

Corporate

     (13.2 )     (11.0 )   (20.0 )%    
                                  
   $ (38.5 )   $ (36.9 )   (4.3 )%   (6.0 )%   (7.1 )%
                                  

 

** percentages are not meaningful

The highlights of our financial information for the first quarter of 2008 as compared to the first quarter of 2007 are as follows:

Revenue change – Total increase of $116.2 million, primarily driven by:

 

 

$35.2 million – Acquisition of HOB Canada in North American Music

 

 

$10.8 million – Foreign exchange movements in International Music

 

 

$16.0 million – Acquisitions of AMG and Heineken Music Hall in International Music

 

 

$24.3 million – Acquisitions of Signatures and Anthill in Global Artists

 

 

$15.5 million – Increased ticket revenues due to strong arena acts and improved results at promoted mid-sized music venues as a result of higher attendance, increased show count and higher average ticket prices for North American Music. In total, North American Music promotions increased by approximately 340 events in the quarter to over 2,100 events, although total attendance for these events decreased slightly.

Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) change – Total improvement of $0.7 million, primarily driven by:

 

 

$1.6 million – Acquisition of HOB Canada in North American Music

 

 

$3.9 million – Acquisitions of AMG and Heineken Music Hall in International Music

 

 

($3.2) million – Investment in Global Artists infrastructure

 

 

($3.9) million – Investment in infrastructure for ticketing and digital operations in Global Digital

 

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Operating Income (Loss) change – Total decline of $1.6 million, primarily driven by:

 

 

$0.7 million – Overall improvement in Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) noted above

 

 

($1.1) million – Increase in non-cash compensation expense for additional equity grants since March 2007

 

 

$6.0 million – Increase in gain on sale of operating assets due to gain recorded on the sale of a motor sports related joint venture as compared to a net loss recorded in 2007 on the sale of two non-core assets

 

 

($7.2) million – Increase in depreciation and amortization expense due to amortization of intangible assets related to the AMG and CPI acquisitions

Other information

• We completed the divestiture of substantially all of our North American theatrical business for gross sales proceeds of $90.4 million. The results for this business are now reported as discontinued operations for all periods presented.

• Maintenance capital expenditures for the quarter were only $6.3 million. We also incurred $16.9 million of capital expenditures for revenue generating projects, including the renovation of The Point in Ireland and the AMG venue expansion in Sheffield.

• As of March 31, 2008, our cash and cash equivalents were $433.9 million and our total long-term debt was $764.2 million with no balance outstanding on our revolving credit facility.

About Live Nation:

Live Nation is the future of the music business. With the most live concerts, music venues and festivals in the world and the most comprehensive concert search engine on the web, Live Nation is revolutionizing the music industry: onstage and online. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol “LYV”.

Conference Call:

The company will host a teleconference today, May 8th, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, which can be accessed by dialing 888-603-6873 (U.S.) or 973-321-1019 (Int’l) and referencing passcode 44729185. To access the call via webcast, please visit the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at www.livenation.com/investors. Additional statistical and financial information to be provided on the call, if any, will be posted supplementally under that same link.

 

Media Contact:

John Vlautin

Live Nation

310-867-7000

 

Investor Contact:

Brad Edwards

Brainerd Communicators, Inc.

212-986-6667

   

 

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
     2008     2007  
     (in thousands except share and per share data)  

Revenue

   $ 636,451     $ 520,312  

Operating expenses:

    

Direct operating expenses

     468,682       373,289  

Selling, general and administrative expenses

     161,616       142,467  

Depreciation and amortization

     34,377       27,062  

Loss (gain) on sale of operating assets

     (1,375 )     4,575  

Corporate expenses

     11,641       9,796  
                

Operating loss

     (38,490 )     (36,877 )

Interest expense

     15,927       14,928  

Interest income

     (1,575 )     (2,637 )

Equity in losses (earnings) of nonconsolidated affiliates

     289       (343 )

Minority interest income

     (2,242 )     (2,995 )

Other income — net

     (851 )     (47 )
                

Loss from continuing operations before income taxes

     (50,038 )     (45,783 )

Income tax expense:

    

Current

     3,308       2,197  

Deferred

     3,021       3,704  
                

Loss from continuing operations

     (56,367 )     (51,684 )

Income from discontinued operations, net of tax

     20,965       6,635  
                

Net loss

     (35,402 )     (45,049 )

Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:

    

Unrealized holding loss on cash flow derivatives

     (1,636 )     (436 )

Foreign currency translation adjustments

     12,072       (67 )
                

Comprehensive loss

   $ (24,966 )   $ (45,552 )
                

Basic and diluted income (loss) per common share:

    

Loss from continuing operations

   $ (.75 )   $ (.79 )

Income from discontinued operations

     .28       .10  
                

Net loss

   $ (.47 )   $ (.69 )
                

Basic and diluted weighted average common shares outstanding

     74,984,934       65,499,719  
                

 

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CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 

     March 31,
2008
    December 31,
2007
 
     (unaudited)     (audited)  
     (in thousands)  
ASSETS     

CURRENT ASSETS

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 433,865     $ 338,991  

Accounts receivable, less allowance of $16,697 as of March 31, 2008 and $18,928 as of December 31, 2007

     284,703       264,316  

Prepaid expenses

     289,375       186,379  

Other current assets

     49,645       44,722  
                

Total Current Assets

     1,057,588       834,408  

PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

    

Land, buildings and improvements

     956,194       1,018,079  

Furniture and other equipment

     237,736       236,320  

Construction in progress

     66,975       51,725  
                
     1,260,905       1,306,124  

Less accumulated depreciation

     389,279       391,079  
                
     871,626       915,045  

INTANGIBLE ASSETS

    

Intangible assets — net

     399,645       382,999  

Goodwill

     473,944       471,542  

OTHER LONG-TERM ASSETS

    

Notes receivable, less allowance of $745 as of March 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007

     1,685       1,703  

Investments in nonconsolidated affiliates

     24,508       23,443  

Other long-term assets

     127,973       122,963  
                

Total Assets

   $ 2,956,969     $ 2,752,103  
                
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY     

CURRENT LIABILITIES

    

Accounts payable

   $ 81,557     $ 79,273  

Accrued expenses

     460,487       511,636  

Deferred revenue

     560,432       259,868  

Current portion of long-term debt

     36,406       36,345  

Other current liabilities

     27,767       18,348  
                

Total Current Liabilities

     1,166,649       905,470  

Long-term debt

     727,775       786,261  

Other long-term liabilities

     109,801       91,465  

Minority interest liability

     66,918       61,841  

Series A and Series B redeemable preferred stock

     40,000       40,000  

Commitments and contingent liabilities

    

SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

    

Common stock

     749       749  

Additional paid-in capital

     944,574       940,848  

Retained deficit

     (166,343 )     (130,941 )

Accumulated other comprehensive income

     66,846       56,410  
                

Total Shareholders’ Equity

     845,826       867,066  
                

Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity

   $ 2,956,969     $ 2,752,103  
                

 

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED)

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
     2008     2007  
     (in thousands)  

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

    

Net loss

   $ (35,402 )   $ (45,049 )

Reconciling items:

    

Depreciation

     17,508       19,920  

Amortization of intangibles

     17,036       7,766  

Deferred income tax expense

     3,021       3,704  

Amortization of debt issuance costs

     853       301  

Non-cash compensation expense

     3,435       2,385  

Loss (gain) on sale of operating assets

     (20,340 )     4,462  

Gain on sale of other investments

     —         (62 )

Equity in losses (earnings) of nonconsolidated affiliates

     289       (343 )

Minority interest income

     (2,226 )     (3,045 )

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions and dispositions:

    

Increase in accounts receivable

     (12,913 )     (10,341 )

Increase in prepaid expenses

     (103,087 )     (197,804 )

Increase in other assets

     (30,703 )     (1,282 )

Decrease in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities

     (18,472 )     (406 )

Increase in deferred revenue

     335,508       308,096  

Decrease in other — net

     (43 )     —    
                

Net cash provided by operating activities

     154,464       88,302  

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES

    

Collection of notes receivable

     19       1,266  

Advances to notes receivable

     (552 )     (12,046 )

Distributions from nonconsolidated affiliates

     2,445       2,684  

Investments made to nonconsolidated affiliates

     (250 )     (22,332 )

Proceeds from disposal of other investments

     —         3,615  

Purchases of property, plant and equipment

     (23,120 )     (13,679 )

Proceeds from disposal of operating assets, net of cash divested

     22,895       15,516  

Cash paid for acquisitions, net of cash acquired

     (6,754 )     (4,142 )

Purchases of intangible assets

     (1,248 )     —    

Decrease (increase) in other — net

     31       (173 )
                

Net cash used in investing activities

     (6,534 )     (29,291 )

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES

    

Proceeds from long-term debt, net of debt issuance costs

     18,329       77,000  

Payments on long-term debt

     (77,014 )     (51,698 )

Distributions to minority interest partners

     (195 )     (2,844 )

Proceeds from exercise of stock options

     —         424  
                

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

     (58,880 )     22,882  

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash

     5,824       (1,007 )

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

     94,874       80,886  

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

     338,991       313,880  
                

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

   $ 433,865     $ 394,766  
                

 

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Forward Looking Statements, Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliations:

Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the potential health and growth of the live music industry in 2008; Live Nation’s competitive position within the industry and its potential to benefit from that anticipated growth and from various industry trends; the anticipated lack of impact to the company of the current economic slowdown; the company’s anticipated achievement of its operational objectives for the year, including the expansion of its distribution platform; the company’s efforts to build out its ticketing and e-commerce businesses and the anticipated benefits of its ticketing and online strategies; the anticipated strength of the company’s 2008 summer concert season; and the anticipated economics associated with the company’s artist rights arrangements. Live Nation wishes to caution you that there are some known and unknown factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to operational challenges in achieving strategic objectives and executing on the company’s plans, the possibility that artists may unexpectedly cancel or reschedule all or part of currently scheduled tours, the risk that the company’s markets do not evolve as anticipated, the potential impact of any general economic slowdown, competition for corporate sponsors and in the industry generally and operational challenges associated with building out the company’s ticketing and digital media operations.

Live Nation refers you to the documents it files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the section titled “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of the company’s most recent Annual Report filed on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, which contain and identify other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the company’s projections or forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date on which they are made. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements by or concerning Live Nation are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above. Live Nation does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements because of new information, future events or otherwise.

This press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined by SEC Regulation G. A reconciliation of each such measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, together with an explanation of why management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors, is provided below.

Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) is a non-GAAP financial measure that the company defines as operating income (loss) before depreciation and amortization, loss (gain) on sale of operating assets and non-cash compensation expense. The company uses Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) to evaluate the performance of its operating segments. The company believes that information about Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) assists investors by allowing them to evaluate changes in the operating results of the company’s portfolio of businesses separate from non-operational factors that affect net income, thus providing insights into both operations and the other factors that affect reported results. Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) is not calculated or presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. A limitation of the use of Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) as a performance measure is that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenue in the company’s business. Accordingly, Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, operating income (loss), net income (loss), and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Furthermore, this measure may vary among other companies; thus, Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP financial measure that the company defines as Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) less maintenance capital expenditures, less net interest expense, less cash taxes, less distributions to minority interest partners plus distributions from investments in nonconsolidated affiliates net of contributions to investments in nonconsolidated affiliates. The company uses free cash flow, among other measures, to evaluate the ability of its operations to generate cash that is available for purposes other than maintenance capital expenditures. The company believes that information about free cash flow provides investors with an important perspective on the cash available to service debt and make acquisitions. Free cash flow is not calculated or presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. A limitation of the use of free cash flow as a performance measure is that it does not necessarily represent funds available for operations and it is not necessarily a measure of our ability to fund our cash needs. Accordingly, free cash flow should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, operating income (loss) and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Furthermore, this measure may vary among other companies; thus, free cash flow as presented above may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

 

8


Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures to Their Most Directly Comparable GAAP Measures (Unaudited)

Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) to Operating Income (Loss) – First Quarter

 

     For the three months ended March 31, 2008  
     Adjusted
operating
income (loss)
    Non-cash
compensation
expense
    Loss (gain) on
sale of operating
assets
    Depreciation and
amortization
   Operating
income
(loss)
 
     ($ in millions)  

North American Music

   $ (16.9 )   $ 1.5     $ —       $ 14.2    $ (32.6 )

International Music

     1.0       0.6       —         7.4      (7.0 )

Global Artists

     (9.0 )     (0.2 )     —         8.9      (17.7 )

Global Digital

     (3.4 )     0.1       —         0.4      (3.9 )

Other and Eliminations

     35.5       (0.8 )     (1.9 )     2.3      35.9  

Corporate

     (9.3 )     2.3       0.5       1.1      (13.2 )
                                       

Total Live Nation

   $ (2.1 )   $ 3.5     $ (1.4 )   $ 34.3    $ (38.5 )
                                       
     For the three months ended March 31, 2007  
     Adjusted
operating
income (loss)
    Non-cash
compensation
expense
    Loss (gain) on
sale of operating
assets
    Depreciation and
amortization
   Operating
income
(loss)
 
     ($ in millions)  

North American Music

   $ (19.0 )   $ 0.8     $ —       $ 13.7    $ (33.5 )

International Music

     0.6       0.1       (0.1 )     4.6      (4.0 )

Global Artists

     (4.8 )     0.3       —         3.7      (8.8 )

Global Digital

     (1.8 )     0.1       —         0.6      (2.5 )

Other and Eliminations

     30.8       0.0       4.7       3.2      22.9  

Corporate

     (8.6 )     1.1       —         1.3      (11.0 )
                                       

Total Live Nation

   $ (2.8 )   $ 2.4     $ 4.6     $ 27.1    $ (36.9 )
                                       

Reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) to Free Cash Flow – First Quarter

 

($ in millions)

   March 31, 2008     March 31, 2007  

Adjusted operating income

   $ (2.1 )   $ (2.8 )

Less: Interest expense, net

     (14.3 )     (12.2 )

Cash taxes

     (3.3 )     (2.2 )

Maintenance capital expenditures

     (6.3 )     (6.9 )

Distributions to minority interest partners

     (0.2 )     (2.9 )

Distributions from (contributions to) investments in nonconsolidated affiliates

     2.2       (19.6 )
                

Free Cash Flow

   $ (24.0 )   $ (46.6 )

 

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