The most headline-grabbing entertainment company of the last few years, SFX Entertainment, is still looking for the big bucks as the EDM-centric promoter reported a weak fourth quarter for 2014 and a net loss of $131 million on the year.
Most of the blame for the fourth quarter woes were placed at the feet of the Stereosonic Festival in Australia, which had underwhelming attendance. SFX CFO Richard Rosenstein indicated that interest in single-day events versus three-day festivals also triggered lower ticket sales than expected.
All that said, SFX has continued to gobble up acquisitions so it's no wonder that the growing company was going to finish the year at a loss, regardless of revenues. Among those buys were the Rock in Rio series, which didn't even stage an event during 2014 (it's a biannual festival) and will expand to Las Vegas for the first time during 2015, both of which should bring a sizable influx of revenue to the company.
Billboard cites "pro forma" statistics, or numbers based on what SFX acquisitions earned prior to being bought up, to get a better idea for how the company is performing. Pro forma revenue grew by nearly $30 million during the year (compared to an actual $2 million drop).
The company is planning for a huge 2015 however. It predicts overall revenues of more than $500 million for the year, meaning a rise of at least 40 percent. They expect a significant portion of that to come from investor sponsorship, up to $100 million from $35 million during 2014.
Stocks for SFX, a public company, also took a hit overall during 2014, dropping 8 percent overall to $4.30 a share. CEO Robert FX Sillerman seems to believe what he's selling however, as late last month he floated a plan to buy back shares from investors at a 44 percent premium from what they were worth.
