Sumfest, Pitbull energise Main Event's third quarter
Published:Thursday | September 14, 2017 | 12:00 AM
Main Event Entertainment Group (MEEG) benefited from Sumfest music festival and an event featuring visiting rapper Pitbull, which energised the company's earnings in the third quarter.
The company expects to maintain that momentum into the fourth quarter.
During the quarter, alongside the work done for the Sumfest promoters, Main Event also did a full-scale execution on decor, staging, audio, lighting and services for international counterpart Freeman Group; and it handled a private event in Montego Bay, which included rapper Pitbull, and was timed to align with Sumfest.
"With the resurgence of Sumfest this year, our major projects involved booth build-outs and site executions for sponsors and key partners of the music festival," said director Dr Ian Blair.
Main Event, which went public in February, made net profit of $26.3 million, or nine cents per share, during the quarter ending July, reversing a loss of $4.7 million a year earlier.
Over nine months, Main Event reported a 69 per cent increase in net profit to $101 million on $942 million of revenues. Its earnings per share increased from 25 cents to 36 cents.
During the third quarter, sales from Main Event's digital signage segment surpassed budgeted expectations, and increased by 40 per cent over the same period last year.
"The final quarter is always a challenging one, but the current year looks positive. Confirmed bookings are ahead of the prior year," Blair said.
Main Event listed at $2 per share in February. The stock is now trading at nearly triple that price at $5.62 per share.
The company went public 13 years after its founding in 2004 by CEO Solomon Sharpe and Chief Operating Officer Richard Bair.