Live Nation posts upbeat quarterly profit on lower costs, shares rise

(Reuters) - Ticketmaster-parent Live Nation Entertainment beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Monday, helped by cost controls, sending its shares up 5.1% in extended trading.

The Beverly Hills, California-based company is benefiting from high prices of concert tickets, even as some customers are spending cautiously amid high interest rates.

"We wrapped up our most active summer concert season ever, our show pipeline has never been bigger, and brand sponsorships are accelerating," CEO Michael Rapino said.

The U.S. Department of Justice and more than two dozen states in May sued to break up Live Nation, arguing that the big concert promoter and its Ticketmaster unit illegally inflated concert ticket prices and hurt artists.

Live Nation reported profit per share of $1.66, beating analysts' average estimate of $1.59, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Revenue declined about 6% to $7.65 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, missing estimates of $7.75 billion. The company reported its first decline in revenue since 2021.

Operating expenses for the quarter fell to $5.78 billion from $6.30 billion a year earlier.

The company's concert business comprising merchandise sales and the production of live music events generated $6.58 billion, making up the bulk of its overall revenue, followed by $693.7 million from ticketing.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona)

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