Despite a series of moves designed to grow the company and shore up its core entertainment business, Tix Corp. has seen its stock price plummet to less than 50 percent of what it was about a year ago, as the company struggles to acclimate its various parts.
Even before Monday’s mad sell off of stocks on Wall Street, Tix Corp. was finding itself in a tough spot. On September 11, 2007, the company’s stock, which currently trades on Nasdaq under the symbol TIXC, closed at $7 per share. As of yesterday, September 15, 2008, the stock closed trading at $2.75, well under half the value a year ago. Tix Corp.’s stock opened at $2.60 today, and over the past year it was trading in the $7 range. (See table below)
Tix Corp., which operates several discount ticket offices in Las Vegas under its Tix4Tonight banner, is not the only publicly traded ticket company to see its stock price fluctuate over the past year, for example Live Nation may have pulled off a coup with its SMG deal but its stock has languished for the better part of a year.
But for Tix Corp. the ride has been especially rocky, prompting CEO Mitch Francis to address the company’s troubles last week in a statement. “We do not believe that the recent weakness in our stock price is based on any aspects of our business fundamentals. To the contrary, we continue to expect to achieve our previously announced 2008 and 2009 guidance,” he said.
The company has seen bright spots in the past year, such as a healthy increase in revenues from its discount ticket locations. Total gross ticket sales grew by an average of 74 percent for July and August this year, compared to the same period the year before, reaching $9.5 million in sales for the two months combined. The revenue figure set a record for being the best two-month period for the company, and Tix Corp. is currently looking to add more locations in the Las Vegas area, according to Francis.
However, while ticket sales have been strong, the company’s move to expand its concert business has not yet been a big success, nor has the integration of its Magic Arts purchase.
“We remain focused on the four key pillars of our growth strategy; acquiring complementary businesses; extending out network of ticketing and online services; acquiring and developing intellectual property; and expanding our network of producers, promoters, and venue operators,” Francis said in a statement. “In addition to actively growing our business, we are utilizing our strong balance sheet by repurchasing shares through the recently announced share repurchase program of up to 1 million shares.”
(The image accompanying this story is from MyWorldReviews.com)
