It’s May, which means Q1 financial statements are in. For Eventbrite, they’re carrying about $293 million in its Q1 earnings report. They’ve reported a $146.5 million loss due to COVID-19 and its impact on live music shutdowns. As a result, they have a three-tiered refund plan in the works.
With nearly every public event canceled, their top numbers for the quarter plummeted. That includes $113.7 million in chargebacks and a decrease of shares to $1.71. Their reserve carries about $76.5 million in case of future chargebacks and refunds.
What’s happened so far to the company is this:
- More than $100 million in expenses cut
- 45% staff reduction, which means more than 500 people laid off
- Secured new $225 million credit facility with an initial $125 million term loan funded in May. They’ll get to withdraw another $100 million in December. This will continue until September 2021, subject to conditions.
Refunds to ticket buyers totals to $150 million already. Eventbrite’s CFO had this to say, with regards to their May 11 earnings call:
“As of early May the outstanding balance of advanced payouts stood at approximately $293 million and many of these creators are actively working to postpone, reschedule or refund these events.” – Lanny Baker, Eventbrite CFO
Therefore, the ticketing company is working on a three-tiered approach for refunds. In concurrence with canceled or postponed events, refunds will be pushed out on a show by show basis. You can receive customized gift cards as well to encourage ticket sale exchanges instead or a credit. You can even donate the dollar value of the purchase to the venue or a non-profit of your choice.
It might not sound like the ideal option, because you paid for a show you wanted to see. But given the current circumstances, we just don’t know when large gatherings and events are allowed to resume. Therefore, if and when they do, programming schedules will differ. It could be best to donate to those in need or save it for a rainy day.
The live entertainment industry has taken a huge nosedive in sales and experience since quarantine started. Paid ticket volume decreased down to 18% year-to-year. Their net revenue prior to contra-revenue went down 16% in the past quarter. Stocks closed at $8.06, which is down 22% from $9.74. We’ll follow the situation as it continues.