MAIN Event Entertainment Group has turned in a strong third-quarter performance, with revenues climbing 44 per cent to $623 million as the company leaned on its own productions to drive growth.

The stronger top line lifted quarterly net profit by nearly two-thirds to $47 million, up 64 per cent, and gross profit to $268 million, a 30 per cent improvement. It signals that Main Event’s bet on building its own entertainment properties is starting to pay off.

Main Event recently turned the spotlight on itself after spending years pulling off some of Jamaica’s biggest corporate launches, concerts, and cultural showcases.

Its first fully owned production was the Jamaica Auto Show, held in May, which closed with CEO Solomon Sharpe feeling optimistic about future events under the new business model.

With the numbers now in, they mark a sharp contrast to the company’s performance earlier in the year when Main Event’s traditional business of entertainment and promotions lagged behind 2024 levels. Management has since made it clear that fine-tuning and scaling proprietary events will remain a priority.

“We are encouraged by the results realised and intend to continue to improve this product in the coming quarters,” Sharpe said in the preamble to the just-released report.

He added that while M-Style Décor and its multimedia services have shown modest year-on-year growth, revenues from the core entertainment and promotions segment remain below pre-2024 levels.

The shift to proprietary events, however, has not come cheap.

The cost of staging larger, higher-profile shows ate into margins, which slipped to 48 per cent year to date compared to 50 per cent a year earlier. Operating expenses rose 11 per cent to $623 million, with administrative costs up 15 per cent and amortisation charges surging 43 per cent.

As a result, nine-month net profit dropped 25 per cent to $111 million, even as year-to-date revenues grew seven per cent to $1.52 billion.

Meanwhile, on the balance sheet, the company looked sturdier.

Assets grew to $1.32 billion, cash and short-term deposits now stand at $388 million, and receivables are higher. Debt is being pared down while equity has also edged closer to $1 billion.

The company’s rebound this quarter comes after a turbulent few years shaped by the pandemic and its aftermath.

In 2020 lockdowns and gathering restrictions gutted the live entertainment industry, cutting Main Event’s revenues by more than 40 per cent and pushing it into losses. The following year remained muted, but by 2022 the business roared back as pent-up demand for festivals, concerts and corporate activations translated into a doubling of revenues and a return to healthy profits.

That recovery peaked in 2023 when the company delivered record sales of nearly $1.9 billion and net profit of just over $200 million, buoyed by rescheduled events and heightened appetite for live experiences. The momentum, however, proved difficult to sustain.

In 2024 revenues slipped by more than 10 per cent and profit contracted sharply, hurt by softer corporate marketing budgets, fewer large-scale events, and cancellations tied in part to storm activity. Those headwinds forced Main Event to put more muscle behind proprietary events, aimed at reducing dependence on client-driven promotions while building recurring revenue streams through ticket sales, sponsorships and merchandising.