Live Nation 4Q Loss Narrows; Ticket Sales Weaken

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s (LYV) fourth-quarter loss narrowed, as stronger eCommerce sales helped offset lower ticket sales due to the NBA lockout and comparisons with a year-earlier tour by U2.

Sales had mostly been improving for the company, which is also the world's largest ticket seller via its Ticketmaster unit, over the past year, despite an environment of weak consumer spending.

The company needs the top-line boost after a drawn-out merger with Ticketmaster weighed on earnings. Rival concert promoter AEG Live has, meanwhile, challenged Ticketmaster with the launch of its own ticket-selling service.

Live Nation Chairman Irving Azoff has considered taking the company private along with its largest shareholder, Liberty Media Corp.'s (LSTZA, LSTZB) John Malone, according to media reports in June.

Last September, Live Nation said it would form a partnership with Vivendi SA's (VIV.FR, VIVEF) Universal Music Group to promote the recording company's artists, in another effort to use cross-marketing to bolster the concert giant's results.

In a January regulatory filing, Live Nation said its global concert ticket sales from Jan. 1 through Jan. 24 were up 14%. The company also had 15% more concerts on sale worldwide as of Jan. 24.

Live Nation, which has about 30% share of the $12 billion worldwide concert market, is promoting or selling tickets for concerts by Coldplay, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen, among others, this year.

For the fourth quarter, Live Nation posted a loss of $66.7 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $86.1 million. Excluding acquisition related costs and other items, adjusted per-share earnings reached $50.7 million, down from $56.8 million. The company did not provide per-share breakouts of its latest quarterly results.

Revenue slid 4.2%, to $1.19 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 30 cents a share and revenue of $1.09 billion.

Concert sales dropped 12%, while ticketing revenue rose 6%. The company's eCommerce business delivered 63% more revenue.

Shares closed at $10.50 Thursday and were inactive after hours. The stock is up 26% so far this year.

-By Anne Pallivathuckal and Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2736; [e-mail]