Stan Chia, chief executive of online ticket marketplace Vivid Seats, has called 2021 a “comeback year” after the company released its full-year financial results.
Vivid Seats posted revenues of $443m (£336m/€400m) in 2021 compared to just $35m the year prior. Net loss also improved significantly from $774m in 2020 to $19m at the end of 2021.
Adjusted EBITDA for the full year equated to $109m while marketplace Gross Order Value (Marketplace GOV) amounted to $2.4bn. Marketplace GOV represents the total transactional amount of marketplace orders placed in a period, inclusive of fees, exclusive of taxes and net of event cancellations.
Vivid Seats’ positive financial results in 2021 follow the return of live events after the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of major business deals.
In October last year, Vivid Seats and special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Horizon Acquisition Corporation completed their business combination to take the company public.
Vivid Seats also expanded its marketplace technology into the online gaming sector with the acquisition of fantasy sports app, Betcha Sports, in December.
Revenue for the three months ended December 31 amounted to $163.8m in 2021 compared to $1.4m during the same period the year before.
Net loss for this quarter came in at $628,000, a substantial improvement on the £33m loss the year prior, while Marketplace GOV amounted to $876m in this period. Adjusted EBITDA was $27.5m for the final three months of 2021.
Chia said: “2021 was a comeback year as we saw a rapid return of live events starting in Q2 alongside the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccination programs across the country. Nothing beats the thrill of live, and we continue to stay focused on helping fans create memorable experiences effortlessly.
“As we close our first final year as a public company with another record-setting quarter, our strong financial results couple with our strategic investments position us well for 2022 and beyond.”
Lawrence Fey, chief financial officer for Vivid Seats, added: “Vivid Seats gained momentum with another record-setting quarter for Marketplace GOV and revenues. In the fourth quarter, we invested significant amounts in our new brand.
“These investments drove meaningful improvements in awareness while accounting for the quarter-over-quarter decline in Adjusted EBITDA. We continue to view brand awareness as an important investment with meaningful long-term benefits.”
Image: Jordon Conner on Unsplash