Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp (MSGE) has reported strong results for its fiscal fourth quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and sending its stock price higher. The company’s revenue jumped 26% year-over-year to $186.1 million, surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $169.6 million. This impressive performance was driven by a number of factors, including a robust concert schedule, the success of the Christmas Spectacular, and increased food and beverage sales at sporting events.
While the company did report an adjusted EPS loss of $(0.53), it still beat the analyst consensus loss estimate of $(0.52). This loss can be attributed to increased costs associated with operations and the growth of the company’s business.
The company’s entertainment offerings saw a 20% year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching $142.9 million. This growth was primarily driven by higher event-related revenues and revenues from its partnership with MSG Sports under the Arena License Agreements.
Food, beverage, and merchandise revenues saw a significant 48% increase year-over-year, reaching $34.7 million. This growth was attributed to increased food and beverage sales at Rangers and Knicks games at The Garden. Event-related revenues increased by $13.2 million compared to the previous year, primarily due to the increased number of concerts held at The Garden.
In addition, the company reported an adjusted operating income of $13.1 million, a significant improvement from $0.69 million in the previous year. This increase was primarily driven by the higher revenues reported during the quarter. As of the end of June, the company had $33.6 million in cash and equivalents.
Fiscal 2024 marked the first full year of operations for MSG Entertainment as a standalone public company. During the year, the company hosted approximately 6.3 million guests at over 960 events, demonstrating strong growth in its bookings business and regular season and playoff games at The Garden for both the Knicks and Rangers. The company also sold over 1 million tickets across 193 shows for the Christmas Spectacular production, which generated record-setting revenues in fiscal 2024.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment stock has experienced significant growth in the past year, gaining over 25%. The stock is currently trading up 9.60% to $42.36 in pre-market trading.
