LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) today released financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016.

Live Nation had a record third quarter and 2016 is on track to deliver another year of record results across revenue, adjusted operating income, or AOI, and free cash flow. For the quarter, revenue was up 21%, operating income was up 25%, AOI was up 14%, and free cash flow was up 21%. Our core divisions - concerts, ticketing and advertising - each delivered their strongest quarterly operating income and AOI results ever.

Our concerts business is our flywheel, attracting 28 million fans to shows globally in the quarter, which then drove record results in our ticketing, advertising and on-site businesses. Our performance demonstrates how Live Nation has created an unparalleled live platform, bringing fans in 40 countries to those unrivaled two-hour events each year.

Our concert and ticketing sales continue to pace well ahead of last year, and this, combined with initiatives to drive increased profits from our flywheel business model, gives us confidence that 2016 will be another year of record results for Live Nation overall and for each of our core divisions.

Concerts Global Platform Growth

Our concerts flywheel starts with attracting more fans to more shows, and in the third quarter we had 16% more fans attend over 6,000 shows, growing revenue by 25%, operating income by 94%, and AOI by 39% year-on-year. Through September, we have grown our fan base by 16% to 56 million, on our way to what we expect to be a record-setting 70 million fans attending Live Nation concerts in 2016.

As we have discussed, increasing on-site monetization has been a major focus, and for the first nine months we have increased average fan spending at our festivals and amphitheaters by 10% at constant currency, while growing attendance 13% at these events, thereby increasing total on-site spending by $70 million at constant currency. This high-margin spend has been a key driver of our growing concerts profitability thus far in 2016.

We are also benefiting from our ticket pricing initiatives, notably increasing the pricing on the most attractive tickets. As a result, our average ticket price grew by 7% through September, which enabled us to increase what we pay artists by $450 million on shows this year. By paying artists more, while continuing to build our profitability as well, we further differentiate our concert business and are able to build global market share to drive our flywheel. At the same time, we continue to attract artists to our management business that provides a strong global pipeline of shows and supports our strategic growth initiatives.

Sponsorship & Advertising Delivered Continued Growth

In our high-margin sponsorship and advertising business, we have continued our growth this year, with revenue up 11%, operating income up 4%, and AOI up 7% for the first nine months. During the same period without the impact of foreign exchange movements, our operating growth has continued at double digits with revenue up 13%, operating income up 6%, and AOI up 10%. The core of our sponsorship and advertising business is the ability to reach those 70 million fans attending Live Nation shows this year, now at a scale greater than the NFL, NBA and NHL combined. With over 27 million of these fans in the hard to reach 18-34 year-old demographic, we provide a unique platform for brands looking to drive engagement and activation. From this base of live fans, we leverage our database of nearly 300 million fans to help brands more effectively target potential customers.

We have then further built our ad platform by streaming live concerts and creating related content around our shows and festivals. So far this year, we have generated 3 billion views across Live Nation sites and platform partners including Snapchat, Facebook and YouTube, growing our ad units and providing brands with a complementary way to reach potential customers.

Our platform is proving particularly attractive to those global brands looking to engage potential customers at scale, and through the third quarter, the 50-plus brands that spend over $1 million a year with us have increased their collective spend by 19% to over $225 million, and now account for over 75% of our sponsorship revenue. As a result, our contracted net revenue for the year is up 12% through October, with over 95% of planned sponsorship now under contract for the year. Given this, we are confident we will again deliver double-digit AOI growth in our sponsorship and advertising business in 2016 at constant currency.

Ticketmaster Marketplace Continues to Grow

Ticketmaster continues building its position as the global ticket marketplace leader, with 14% growth through September in global gross transaction value, or GTV, to $19 billion at constant currency, on our way to over $27 billion anticipated for the year. Ticketmaster provides 480 million tickets to fans across 28 countries, making it by far the largest such marketplace. This has driven a 12% increase in ticketing revenue through the third quarter, a 13% increase in operating income, and a 9% increase in AOI.

Our success in ticketing comes from our ongoing investment in new products, which then supports increased conversion and continued client growth. This in turn reinforces Ticketmaster as the most effective partner for content to sell tickets to their events. Investments in delivering an efficient mobile purchase process continue to improve the fan experience, and app installs for the first nine months are up 44% to nearly 30 million, while mobile ticket sales are up 38% to now account for 27% of all ticket purchases. Similarly, our integrated secondary and primary ticket offering continues to benefit fans, allowing them to see all their options in one location, driving secondary GTV up 33% at constant currency, to over $1 billion through September 30. These product improvements have been key in delivering our 7% growth in global fee-bearing tickets through the first three quarters this year, which translates into over 8 million more fans attending sporting events, concerts and the theater.

With this success in selling tickets, Ticketmaster continues to attract new clients worldwide. In the third quarter, we added 170 clients to our base of over 12,000, setting us up for our seventh consecutive year of growth in ticket inventory.

Going forward, we see attractive growth potential in ticketing, as we continue creating targeted products to deliver on the needs of all fans, increasing conversion at our sites and expanding our reach with APIs into third-party distribution platforms.

Summary

We now have good visibility into our full year 2016 performance, and are confident we will deliver another year of record revenue, AOI and free cash flow. We continue to rapidly grow our concert fan base, which is demonstrating the effectiveness of our flywheel, driving anticipated double-digit growth in sponsorship AOI and ticketing GTV. As we look forward, we see tremendous opportunities to continue global consolidation of our concerts and ticketing businesses, with further growth in advertising and ticketing from the concerts flywheel.

Michael Rapino
President and Chief Executive Officer
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.

The company will webcast a teleconference today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss its financial performance. Interested parties should visit the Events & Webcasts section of the company's website at investors.livenationentertainment.com to listen to the webcast. Supplemental statistical and financial information to be provided on the call, if any, will be available under the Reports section at the same link. A replay of the webcast will also be available on the Live Nation website.

About Live Nation Entertainment:

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: LYV), or Live Nation, is the world's leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, Live Nation Media & Sponsorship and Artist Nation Management. For additional information, visit investors.livenationentertainment.com.



                                                                                  FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS - 3RD QUARTER
                                                                                  ----------------------------------

                                                                                      (unaudited; $ in millions)
                                                                                       -------------------------


                                            Q3 2016            Q3 2015              Growth                  Q3 2016       Growth
                                           Reported           Reported                as                   Constant         at
                                                                                    Reported                Currency      Constant
                                                                                                                       Currency
                                                                                                                         --------

    Revenue

    Concerts                                         $2,497.1                                    $1,991.9                       25%                 $2,534.3    27%

    Sponsorship &
     Advertising                               136.1                       126.6                                    8%                  138.8             10%

    Ticketing                                  456.4                       426.2                                    7%                  460.3              8%

    Artist Nation                              150.8                       136.7                                   10%                  152.4             12%

    Other & Eliminations                      (70.0)                     (58.5)                                (20)%                 (70.0)          (20)%
                                               -----                       -----                                                        -----

                                                     $3,170.4                                    $2,622.9                       21%                 $3,215.8    23%
                                                     ========                                    ========                       ===                  ========    ===


    Operating Income (Loss)

    Concerts                                            $86.5                                       $44.6                       94%                    $84.7    90%

    Sponsorship &
     Advertising                                95.5                        92.9                                    3%                   98.7              6%

    Ticketing                                   53.3                        49.0                                    9%                   51.7              6%

    Artist Nation                              (8.4)                      (2.0)                                    *        (8.7)                *

    Other & Eliminations                       (3.2)                        0.4                                     *        (3.2)                *

    Corporate                                 (32.4)                     (31.4)                                 (3)%                 (32.4)           (3)%
                                               -----                       -----                                                        -----

                                                       $191.3                                      $153.5                       25%                   $190.8    24%
                                                       ======                                      ======                       ===                    ======    ===


    Adjusted Operating Income (Loss)

    Concerts                                           $119.5                                       $85.8                       39%                   $118.6    38%

    Sponsorship &
     Advertising                               100.2                        95.8                                    5%                  103.3              8%

    Ticketing                                  101.7                        97.1                                    5%                  100.9              4%

    Artist Nation                               11.4                        12.9                                 (11)%                   11.5           (11)%

    Other & Eliminations                       (2.8)                      (0.2)                                    *        (2.8)                *

    Corporate                                 (27.2)                     (25.8)                                 (5)%                 (27.2)           (5)%
                                               -----                       -----                                                        -----

                                                       $302.8                                      $265.6                       14%                   $304.3    15%
                                                       ======                                      ======                       ===                    ======    ===


          * percentages are not meaningful


                                                                            FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS - 9 MONTHS
                                                                            -------------------------------

                                                                              (unaudited; $ in millions)
                                                                               -------------------------


                                           9 Months           9 Months              Growth                 9 Months       Growth
                                                2016                2015                as                        2016         at
                                           Reported           Reported             Reported                Constant      Constant
                                                                                                         Currency      Currency
                                                                                                                         --------

    Revenue

    Concerts                                         $4,776.0                                    $3,883.5                       23%                 $4,843.9    25%

    Sponsorship &
     Advertising                               288.9                       259.7                                   11%                  294.1             13%

    Ticketing                                1,305.6                     1,162.0                                   12%                1,319.8             14%

    Artist Nation                              312.6                       302.5                                    3%                  316.1              5%

    Other & Eliminations                     (125.7)                     (98.7)                                (27)%                (125.7)          (27)%
                                              ------                       -----                                                       ------

                                                     $6,557.4                                    $5,509.0                       19%                 $6,648.2    21%
                                                     ========                                    ========                       ===                  ========    ===


    Operating Income (Loss)

    Concerts                                            $56.1                                      $(3.7)                        *            $53.7           *

    Sponsorship &
     Advertising                               179.9                       173.5                                    4%                  184.4              6%

    Ticketing                                  135.4                       119.8                                   13%                  133.8             12%

    Artist Nation                             (41.8)                     (34.4)                                (22)%                 (42.1)          (22)%

    Other & Eliminations                       (9.1)                      (0.4)                                    *        (9.1)                *

    Corporate                                 (88.3)                     (83.0)                                 (6)%                 (88.3)           (6)%
                                               -----                       -----                                                        -----

                                                       $232.2                                      $171.8                       35%                   $232.4    35%
                                                       ======                                      ======                       ===                    ======    ===


    Adjusted Operating Income (Loss)

    Concerts                                           $166.4                                      $111.5                       49%                   $165.8    49%

    Sponsorship &
     Advertising                               194.7                       181.5                                    7%                  199.1             10%

    Ticketing                                  271.3                       248.7                                    9%                  271.7              9%

    Artist Nation                                6.0                         4.9                                   22%                    6.3             29%

    Other & Eliminations                       (8.9)                      (1.8)                                    *        (8.9)                *

    Corporate                                 (72.3)                     (67.8)                                 (7)%                 (72.3)           (7)%
                                               -----                       -----                                                        -----

                                                       $557.2                                      $477.0                       17%                   $561.7    18%
                                                       ======                                      ======                       ===                    ======    ===


          * percentages are not meaningful

As of September 30, 2016, total cash and cash equivalents were $1.0 billion, which includes $547 million in ticketing client cash and $179 million in free cash. Event-related deferred revenue was $417 million as of September 30, 2016, compared to $441 million as of the same date in 2015. We currently expect capital expenditures for the year to be between approximately $180 million and $185 million, with approximately 50% to be revenue generating capital expenditures. In addition, we expect the amortization of nonrecoupable ticketing contract advances for 2016 full year to be in line with the total amount in 2015.



                                  KEY OPERATING METRICS


                                 Three Months Ended                       Nine Months Ended

                                    September 30,                           September 30,
                                    -------------                           -------------

                                2016                 2015                2016                   2015
                                ----                 ----                ----                   ----

                                  (in thousands except estimated events)

    Concerts (1)

    Estimated events:

    North America              4,955                           4,438                         12,848   12,257

    International              1,207                           1,467                          5,800    5,135
                               -----                           -----                          -----    -----

    Total estimated events     6,162                           5,905                         18,648   17,392
                               -----                           -----                         ------   ------

    Estimated fans (rounded):

    North America             22,161                          18,674                         39,296   34,896

    International              5,808                           5,533                         16,724   13,425
                                                              -----                         ------   ------

    Total estimated fans      27,969                          24,207                         56,020   48,321
                              ------                          ------                         ------   ------

    Ticketing (2)

    Number of tickets sold    42,579                          41,473                        123,489  116,206


             (1)    Events generally represent a single
                     performance by an artist.  Fans
                     generally represent the number of
                     people who attend an event.
                     Festivals are counted as one event
                     in the quarter in which the
                     festival begins, but the number of
                     fans is based on the days the fans
                     were present at the festival and
                     thus can be reported across
                     multiple quarters.  Events and fan
                     attendance metrics are estimated
                     each quarter.

             (2)    The number of tickets sold includes
                     primary tickets only.  This metric
                     includes tickets sold during the
                     period regardless of event timing
                     except for our own events where
                     our concert promoters control
                     ticketing which are reported as
                     the events occur. The total number
                     of tickets sold reported above for
                     the three months ended September
                     30, 2016 and 2015 excludes
                     approximately 68 million and 69
                     million, respectively, and for the
                     nine months ended September 30,
                     2016 and 2015 excludes
                     approximately 205 million and 202
                     million, respectively, of tickets
                     sold using our Ticketmaster
                     systems, through season seat
                     packages and our venue clients'
                     box offices, for which we do not
                     receive a fee.



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


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


    ($ in millions)                                      Q3 2016                  Q3 2015
                                                         -------                  -------

    Adjusted operating income                                         $302.8                                $265.6

    Less:  Cash interest expense -
     net                                                    (24.1)                                (25.4)

               Cash taxes                                    (7.1)                                (11.7)

               Maintenance capital
                expenditures                                (20.8)                                (14.2)

               Distributions to
                noncontrolling interests -
                net                                          (3.1)                                 (4.4)

    Distributions from
     (contributions to)
     investments in
     nonconsolidated affiliates                                2.9                                  (2.6)
                                                               ---                                   ----

    Free cash flow                                                    $250.6                                $207.3

    Revenue generating capital
     expenditures                                           (22.6)                                (16.7)
                                                             -----                                  -----

    Net                                                               $228.0                                $190.6
    ---                                                               ------                                ------


    ($ in millions)                                  9 Months 2016             9 Months 2015
                                                     -------------             -------------

    Adjusted operating income                                         $557.2                                $477.0

    Less:  Cash interest expense -
     net                                                    (68.0)                                (67.8)

               Cash taxes                                   (27.3)                                (29.5)

               Maintenance capital
                expenditures                                (58.4)                                (44.4)

               Distributions to
                noncontrolling interests -
                net                                         (25.3)                                (13.8)

    Distributions from
     (contributions to)
     investments in
     nonconsolidated affiliates                              (5.0)                                   3.3
                                                              ----                                    ---

    Free cash flow                                                    $373.2                                $324.8

    Revenue generating capital
     expenditures                                           (62.2)                                (50.1)
                                                             -----                                  -----

    Net                                                               $311.0                                $274.7
    ---                                                               ------                                ------



         Reconciliation of Cash and Cash Equivalents to Free Cash


    ($ in millions)                               September 30,
                                                           2016
                                                           ----

    Cash and cash equivalents                                      $1,039.7

    Client cash                                         (547.4)

    Deferred revenue - event-
     related                                            (416.5)

    Accrued artist fees                                 (100.7)

    Collections on behalf of
     others                                              (29.3)

    Prepaid expenses - event-
     related                                              233.4
                                                          -----

       Free cash                                                     $179.2
       ---------                                                     ------

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 expected record results for the company in 2016 across revenue, adjusted operating income and free cash flow; anticipated record results in 2016 for each of the company's core businesses, including anticipated double-digit adjusted operating income growth in the company's sponsorship and advertising business at constant currency; expected growth in attendance at the company's concerts in 2016 to 70 million fans; expected growth potential in ticketing, including anticipated growth in Ticketmaster's global gross transaction value to an expected $27 billion for the year and expected growth in Ticketmaster's ticket inventory for the seventh consecutive year; and anticipated opportunities to continue global consolidation of the company's concerts and ticketing businesses, with expected further growth in advertising and ticketing from the company's concerts flywheel. 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 risk that the company's markets do not evolve as anticipated, the potential impact of any economic slowdown and operational challenges associated with selling tickets and staging events.

Live Nation refers you to the documents it files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, specifically the section titled "Item 1A. Risk Factors" of the company's most recent Annual Report filed on Form 10-K, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and its 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 herein.

Adjusted Operating Income (Loss), or AOI, is a non-GAAP financial measure that we define as operating income (loss) before acquisition expenses (including transaction costs, changes in the fair value of acquisition-related contingent consideration obligations, acquisition-related severance and compensation), depreciation and amortization (including goodwill impairment), loss (gain) on disposal of operating assets and certain stock-based compensation expense. We use AOI to evaluate the performance of our operating segments. We believe that information about AOI assists investors by allowing them to evaluate changes in the operating results of our 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. AOI is not calculated or presented in accordance with GAAP. A limitation of the use of AOI as a performance measure is that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain amortizing assets used in generating revenue in our business. Accordingly, AOI 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 GAAP. Furthermore, this measure may vary among other companies; thus, AOI as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Constant Currency is a non-GAAP financial measure. We calculate currency impacts as the difference between current period activity translated using the current period's currency exchange rates and the comparable prior period's currency exchange rates. We present constant currency information to provide a framework for assessing how our underlying businesses performed excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuation.

Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP financial measure that the company defines as AOI less maintenance capital expenditures, less net cash interest expense, less cash taxes, less net distributions to noncontrolling interest partners, plus distributions from investments in nonconsolidated affiliates net of contributions. 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 GAAP. 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 is not necessarily a measure of the company's ability to fund its 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 GAAP. Furthermore, this measure may vary among other companies; thus, free cash flow as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Free Cash is a non-GAAP financial measure that the company defines as cash and cash equivalents less ticketing-related client funds, less event-related deferred revenue, less accrued expenses due to artists and cash collected on behalf of others, plus event-related prepaids. The company uses free cash as a proxy for how much cash it has available to, among other things, optionally repay debt balances, make acquisitions and fund revenue generating capital expenditures. Free cash is not calculated or presented in accordance with GAAP. A limitation of the use of free cash as a performance measure is that it does not necessarily represent funds available from operations and it is not necessarily a measure of our ability to fund our cash needs. Accordingly, free cash should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, cash and cash equivalents and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP. Furthermore, this measure may vary among other companies; thus, free cash as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.



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



                                                                                                                    Reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) to Operating Income (Loss)
                                                                                                                     ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

      ($ in millions)          Adjusted          Foreign        Adjusted           Non-cash  and                    Loss (gain)                                                 Acquisition                Operating
                              operating         exchange       operating            stock-based                     on disposal                                                   expenses                   income
                                income            impact         income            compensation                          of                        Depreciation                                              (loss)
                                (loss)                           (loss)               expense                  operating assets                      and
                               constant                         reported
                               currency                                                                                                         amortization


                                                                               Three Months Ended September 30, 2016
                                                                               -------------------------------------


    Concerts                             $118.6                            $(0.9)                                             $119.5                                                    $1.8                                   $0.2               $33.9    $(2.9)  $86.5

    Sponsorship & Advertising      103.3                   3.1                               100.2                                 0.3                                         -                                    4.4                    -        95.5

    Ticketing                      100.9                 (0.8)                              101.7                                 0.7                                         -                                   47.2                  0.5         53.3

    Artist Nation                   11.5                   0.1                                11.4                                 0.9                                       0.1                                    18.1                  0.7        (8.4)

    Other and Eliminations         (2.8)                    -                              (2.8)                                  -                                        -                                    0.4                    -       (3.2)

    Corporate                     (27.2)                    -                             (27.2)                                4.4                                         -                                    0.8                    -      (32.4)


        Total Live Nation                $304.3                              $1.5                                              $302.8                                                    $8.1                                   $0.3              $104.8    $(1.7) $191.3
                                         ======                              ====                                              ======                                                    ====                                   ====              ======     =====  ======


                                                                               Three Months Ended September 30, 2015
                                                                               -------------------------------------


    Concerts                              $85.8                          $      -                                              $85.8                                                    $1.6                                   $0.3               $36.1      $3.2   $44.6

    Sponsorship & Advertising       95.8                     -                               95.8                                 0.4                                         -                                    2.5                    -        92.9

    Ticketing                       97.1                     -                               97.1                                 0.7                                       0.2                                    46.5                  0.7         49.0

    Artist Nation                   12.9                     -                               12.9                                 1.2                                       0.1                                    13.3                  0.3        (2.0)

    Other and Eliminations         (0.2)                    -                              (0.2)                                  -                                        -                                  (0.6)                   -         0.4

    Corporate                     (25.8)                    -                             (25.8)                                4.1                                         -                                    1.3                  0.2       (31.4)


        Total Live Nation                $265.6                          $      -                                             $265.6                                                    $8.0                                   $0.6               $99.1      $4.4  $153.5
                                         ======                        ===    ===                                             ======                                                    ====                                   ====               =====      ====  ======


                                                                                Nine Months Ended September 30, 2016
                                                                                ------------------------------------


    Concerts                             $165.8                            $(0.6)                                             $166.4                                                    $5.5                                 $(0.1)             $101.1      $3.8   $56.1

    Sponsorship & Advertising      199.1                   4.4                               194.7                                 1.0                                         -                                   13.8                    -       179.9

    Ticketing                      271.7                   0.4                               271.3                                 2.3                                         -                                  132.8                  0.8        135.4

    Artist Nation                    6.3                   0.3                                 6.0                                 3.1                                         -                                   44.9                (0.2)      (41.8)

    Other and Eliminations         (8.9)                    -                              (8.9)                                  -                                        -                                    0.1                  0.1        (9.1)

    Corporate                     (72.3)                    -                             (72.3)                               13.3                                       0.1                                     2.5                  0.1       (88.3)


    Total Live Nation                    $561.7                              $4.5                                              $557.2                                                   $25.2                              $       -             $295.2      $4.6  $232.2
                                         ======                              ====                                              ======                                                   =====                            ===     ===             ======      ====  ======


                                                                                Nine Months Ended September 30, 2015
                                                                                ------------------------------------


    Concerts                             $111.5                          $      -                                             $111.5                                                    $5.5                                   $0.4              $105.3      $4.0  $(3.7)

    Sponsorship & Advertising      181.5                     -                              181.5                                 1.2                                         -                                    6.8                    -       173.5

    Ticketing                      248.7                     -                              248.7                                 2.2                                         -                                  125.4                  1.3        119.8

    Artist Nation                    4.9                     -                                4.9                                 3.8                                       0.2                                    33.9                  1.4       (34.4)

    Other and Eliminations         (1.8)                    -                              (1.8)                                  -                                        -                                  (1.4)                   -       (0.4)

    Corporate                     (67.8)                    -                             (67.8)                               12.9                                         -                                    2.2                  0.1       (83.0)
                                   -----                   ---                              -----                                ----                                       ---                                    ---                  ---        -----

    Total Live Nation                    $477.0                          $      -                                             $477.0                                                   $25.6                                   $0.6              $272.2      $6.8  $171.8
                                         ======                        ===    ===                                             ======                                                   =====                                   ====              ======      ====  ======




                                                    LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

                                                      CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

                                                              (unaudited)


                                                               September 30,                   December 31,
                                                                        2016                                2015
                                                                        ----                                ----

                                                                                (in thousands)

                                     ASSETS

    Current assets

    Cash and cash equivalents                                                   $1,039,706                         $1,303,125

    Accounts receivable, less allowance of
     $26,620 and $17,168, respectively                               785,418                               452,600

    Prepaid expenses                                                 533,283                               496,226

    Other current assets                                              48,798                                36,364
                                                                      ------                                ------

    Total current assets                                           2,407,205                             2,288,315

    Property, plant and equipment

    Land, buildings and improvements                                 827,960                               840,032

    Computer equipment and capitalized
     software                                                        520,100                               505,233

    Furniture and other equipment                                    251,419                               233,271

    Construction in progress                                          95,398                                47,684
                                                                      ------                                ------

                                                                   1,694,877                             1,626,220

    Less accumulated depreciation                                    974,287                               894,938
                                                                     -------                               -------

                                                                     720,590                               731,282

    Intangible assets

    Definite-lived intangible assets, net                            759,210                               777,763

    Indefinite-lived intangible assets                               368,906                               369,317

    Goodwill                                                       1,671,629                             1,604,315

    Other long-term assets                                           489,489                               385,249
                                                                     -------                               -------

    Total assets                                                                $6,417,029                         $6,156,241
                                                                                ==========                         ==========

                             LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

    Current liabilities

    Accounts payable, client accounts                                             $709,236                           $662,941

    Accounts payable                                                  66,347                                58,607

    Accrued expenses                                                 905,729                               686,664

    Deferred revenue                                                 518,678                               618,640

    Current portion of long-term debt, net                            46,693                                42,352

    Other current liabilities                                         34,314                                32,002
                                                                      ------                                ------

    Total current liabilities                                      2,280,997                             2,101,206

    Long-term debt, net                                            1,984,511                             2,002,662

    Deferred income taxes                                            198,660                               199,472

    Other long-term liabilities                                      125,040                               142,267

    Commitments and contingent liabilities

    Redeemable noncontrolling interests                              308,773                               263,715

    Stockholders' equity

    Common stock                                                       2,027                                 2,020

    Additional paid-in capital                                     2,401,969                             2,428,566

    Accumulated deficit                                            (972,100)                          (1,075,111)

    Cost of shares held in treasury                                  (6,865)                              (6,865)

    Accumulated other comprehensive loss                           (144,273)                            (111,657)
                                                                    --------                              --------

    Total Live Nation stockholders' equity                         1,280,758                             1,236,953

    Noncontrolling interests                                         238,290                               209,966
                                                                     -------                               -------

    Total equity                                                   1,519,048                             1,446,919
                                                                   ---------                             ---------

    Total liabilities and equity                                                $6,417,029                         $6,156,241
                                                                                ==========                         ==========




                                                                                            LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

                                                                                         CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

                                                                                                      (unaudited)


                                                                Three Months Ended                                             Nine Months Ended
                                                                     September 30,                                                  September 30,
                                                                  -------------                                                  -------------

                                                           2016                                2015                        2016                   2015
                                                           ----                                ----                        ----                   ----

                                                                       (in thousands except share and per share data)

    Revenue                                                     $3,170,416                                            $2,622,917                       $6,557,390  $5,509,006

    Operating expenses:

    Direct operating expenses                         2,428,003                             1,974,322                                 4,817,894          3,974,710

    Selling, general and
     administrative expenses                            414,412                               365,220                                 1,126,452          1,008,922

    Depreciation and amortization                       104,862                                99,054                                   295,241            272,166

    Loss (gain) on disposal of
     operating assets                                       253                                   625                                       (1)               588

    Corporate expenses                                   31,600                                30,186                                    85,649             80,800
                                                         ------                                ------                                    ------             ------

    Operating income                                    191,286                               153,510                                   232,155            171,820

    Interest expense                                     25,249                                25,844                                    75,965             76,857

    Interest income                                       (625)                                (460)                                  (1,831)           (2,419)

    Equity in losses (earnings)
     of nonconsolidated
     affiliates                                          17,471                                 2,040                                    17,184              (573)

    Other expense, net                                    2,606                                 8,127                                     1,412             20,655
                                                          -----                                 -----                                     -----             ------

    Income before income taxes                          146,585                               117,959                                   139,425             77,300

    Income tax expense                                   13,824                                13,577                                    26,157             19,232
                                                         ------                                ------                                    ------             ------

    Net income                                          132,761                               104,382                                   113,268             58,068

    Net income attributable to
     noncontrolling interests                            21,682                                15,333                                     8,966             12,242
                                                         ------                                ------                                     -----             ------

    Net income attributable to
     common stockholders of Live
     Nation                                                       $111,079                                               $89,049                         $104,302     $45,826
                                                                  ========                                               =======                         ========     =======


    Basic net income per common
     share available to common
     stockholders of Live Nation                                     $0.51                                                 $0.39                            $0.35       $0.14
                                                                     =====                                                 =====                            =====       =====

    Diluted net income per common
     share available to common
     stockholders of Live Nation                                     $0.49                                                 $0.38                            $0.34       $0.14
                                                                     =====                                                 =====                            =====       =====


    Weighted average common shares outstanding:

    Basic                                           202,118,412                           201,392,591                               201,904,305        200,776,477

    Diluted                                         217,690,217                           208,738,780                               208,855,401        208,493,651



    Reconciliation to net income available to common
     stockholders of Live Nation:

    Net income attributable to
     common stockholders of Live
     Nation                                                       $111,079                                               $89,049                         $104,302     $45,826

    Accretion of redeemable
     noncontrolling interests                           (8,576)                             (10,118)                                 (33,204)          (17,111)
                                                         ------                               -------                                   -------            -------

    Net income available to
     common stockholders of Live
     Nation-basic                                       102,503                                78,931                                    71,098             28,715

    Convertible debt interest,
     net of tax                                           3,274                                     -                                        -                 -
                                                          -----                                   ---                                      ---               ---

    Net income available to
     common stockholders of Live
     Nation-diluted                                               $105,777                                               $78,931                          $71,098     $28,715
                                                                  ========                                               =======                          =======     =======




                                                 LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

                                              CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

                                                           (unaudited)


                                                            Nine Months Ended            September
                                                                              30,
                                                           ---------------------------------------

                                                             2016                                 2015
                                                             ----                                 ----

                                                                      (in thousands)

    CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

    Net income                                                         $113,268                             $58,068

    Reconciling items:

    Depreciation                                          104,100                                 97,845

    Amortization                                          191,141                                174,321

    Deferred income tax benefit                          (14,096)                               (7,181)

    Amortization of debt issuance
     costs, discounts and premium,
     net                                                    7,823                                  7,974

    Non-cash compensation expense                          25,237                                 25,594

    Equity in losses (earnings) of
     nonconsolidated affiliates, net
     of distributions                                      25,742                                  6,040

    Provision for uncollectible
     receivables and advances                              12,743                                  7,339

    Other, net                                            (6,094)                              (12,091)

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

    Increase in accounts receivable                     (345,343)                             (232,106)

    Increase in prepaid expenses and
     other assets                                       (173,683)                             (215,009)

    Increase in accounts payable,
     accrued expenses and other
     liabilities                                          295,025                                120,812

    Decrease in deferred revenue                        (116,347)                              (46,530)
                                                         --------                                -------

    Net cash provided by (used in)
     operating activities                                 119,516                               (14,924)
                                                          -------                                -------

    CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES

    Advances and collections of
     notes receivable, net                                (7,971)                              (22,827)

    Investments made in
     nonconsolidated affiliates                          (18,628)                              (17,130)

    Purchases of property, plant and
     equipment                                          (119,740)                              (97,506)

    Cash paid for acquisitions, net
     of cash acquired                                   (113,065)                              (87,371)

    Other, net                                              (770)                               (2,290)


    Net cash used in investing
     activities                                         (260,174)                             (227,124)
                                                         --------                               --------

    CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES

    Payments on long-term debt                           (28,795)                              (22,910)

    Distributions to noncontrolling
     interests                                           (25,279)                              (13,834)

    Purchases and sales of
     noncontrolling interests, net                       (32,266)                               (9,491)

    Proceeds from exercise of stock
     options                                                5,676                                 14,685

    Payments for deferred and
     contingent consideration                            (21,809)                               (4,450)

    Other, net                                            (7,227)                                 2,552

    Net cash used in financing
     activities                                         (109,700)                              (33,448)
                                                         --------                                -------

    Effect of exchange rate changes
     on cash and cash equivalents                        (13,061)                              (45,150)
                                                          -------                                -------

    Net decrease in cash and cash
     equivalents                                        (263,419)                             (320,646)

    Cash and cash equivalents at
     beginning of period                                1,303,125                              1,382,029
                                                        ---------                              ---------

    Cash and cash equivalents at end
     of period                                                       $1,039,706                          $1,061,383
                                                                     ==========                          ==========

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/live-nation-entertainment-reports-third-quarter-2016-financial-results-300358629.html

SOURCE Live Nation Entertainment