DEAG continues to grow and expects a successful full year 2024 after a very good start to the year

Corporate News

DEAG continues to grow and expects a successful full year 2024 after a very good start to the year

• Ticketing shows sustained high growth momentum
• Revenue of around EUR 52 million / EBITDA of around EUR 2.9 million
• M&A strategy continues to be implemented successfully – very good market position strengthened by acquisitions in the UK

Berlin, 29 May 2024 – DEAG Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft (“DEAG”) reports that it has gotten off to a successful start to 2024 as planned. Based on a well-filled event pipeline and very good ticket sales, a continuation of the successful course that has been underway since 2022 can also be seen for the full year 2024. Revenues of around EUR 52 million were generated in the first three months. This is more than 7% higher than the high figure of EUR 48.2 million in the same period of the previous year. At around EUR 2.9 million (previous year: EUR 3.1 million), earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were also in line with expectations due to seasonal shifts in business within the genres and the restructuring of the Executive Board as of 1 April 2024. In the current financial year, the focus of the event density of the company’s own high-margin event formats compared to the previous year will be on the subsequent quarters, especially on the second half of 2024.

The first quarter of 2024 was characterised by a strong ticketing business and the planned expansion of DEAG’s own event formats. DEAG now generates around half of its consolidated revenue with its own and self-produced event formats. This makes it easier to plan business development and generates a high percentage of recurring revenue. DEAG succeeds in selling an increasing share of its tickets via the Group’s own ticketing platforms myticket.de, myticket.at, myticket.co.uk, gigantic.com and tickets.ie. Ticket sales via these platforms already increased by around 28% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024. For 2024, DEAG expects to see an increase in tickets sold to around 11 million in total after more than 10 million tickets sold in the previous year, with a continuously growing share via the Group’s own ticketing platforms. 

DEAG also successfully continued its Buy & Build strategy. By acquiring majority stakes in successful companies, DEAG is further expanding its market position and tapping synergy potential in areas such as ticketing, live entertainment, artist acquisition and the development of new locations. DEAG further strengthened its strong market position in the Spoken Word & Literary Events segment by acquiring “How To Academy” and in the Shows and Musicals segment with “ShowPlanr” in the UK at the beginning of 2024. DEAG plans to intensify its M&A activities in the further course of the year and is currently engaged in promising talks with interested companies. The focus is on ticketing and further expansion into new European markets.

DEAG successfully staged many concerts and events of all sizes and genres between January and March 2024. Among other events, the Christmas Gardens delighted more than 2 million visitors at 21 locations in six European countries. Crowd-drawers included tours and concerts by Judas Priest and OMD, shows such as Cirque du Soleil in Switzerland and “Disney on Ice,” as well as the international literature festival lit.COLOGNE, which set a new attendance record with 112,500 visitors. The event pipeline is also full to bursting for the months to come. Besides tours and concerts by AC/DC, Lenny Kravitz and Tream, DEAG is also organising a number of open-air festivals in the areas of EDM (“Electronic Dance Music”), Rock/Pop and Classics & Jazz, for which 4.9 million tickets had already been sold by the end of the first quarter of 2024 (+ approx. 38%). DEAG will once again sell over 800,000 tickets for festivals such as NATURE ONE, Indian Spirit, Syndicate, Belladrum Tartan Heart and Sion sous les étoiles alone, thereby achieving an above-average margin.

For the full year 2024, DEAG continues to expect an improvement in EBITDA with an equally positive sales trend.

Detlef Kornett, Group CEO of DEAG: “We were successful in the first quarter and are right on target. This gives us tailwind for the year as a whole and beyond. DEAG is growing organically and is also strengthening its market position as one of the leading live entertainment providers in Europe through targeted acquisitions. Live entertainment means feeling good and getting away from it all. This year, we will once again provide visitors with this ‘little slice of happiness’ on unforgettable evenings. We believe we are very well positioned for further growth and are continuing to expand ticketing in particular as a strong growth driver.”

The Group Quarterly Financial Statement as of 31 March 2024 will be available for download from 30 May 2024 on the company website in the “Investor Relations” section.

About DEAG

DEAG Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft (DEAG), a leading entertainment service company and live entertainment provider, produces and promotes live events of all genres and sizes in Europe. With its group companies, DEAG has been present at 22 locations in its core markets of Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Ireland, Denmark and Spain. As a live entertainment service provider with an integrated business model, DEAG has extensive expertise in the conception, organisation, promotion and production of live events.

Founded in Berlin in 1978, DEAG's core business areas today comprise Rock/Pop, including Urban and Electronic Dance Music, Classics & Jazz, Family Entertainment, Spoken Word & Literary Events, Arts+Exhibitions, Ticketing and Entertainment Services. Live Entertainment for all generations, including Arts+Exhibitions, are important building blocks for the further development of DEAG's own content.

For around 6,000 events, more than 10 million tickets are sold annually for DEAG’s own and third-party content - a steadily growing share of these are sold via the Group's own ticketing platforms myticket.de, myticket.at, myticket.co.uk, gigantic.com and tickets.ie.

Investor & Public Relations            
Axel Mühlhaus, edicto GmbH                                                                                                               
Eschersheimer Landstraße 42                                                                                                                               
60322 Frankfurt/Main                                                                                                                                                  Phone: 0049 69 905505-52
e-mail: deag@edicto.de