DEAG witnesses expected dip in revenue

DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG has posted a nine-month revenue of more than €213m (£184.2m/$233m), with the entertainment company’s ticketing and service businesses exceeding expectations. 

Following the financial results, DEAG has predicted that its full-year revenue will be above €300m in 2023.

While the nine-month revenue represents a drop compared to last year’s €235.1m during the same period, it was expected due to DEAG playing catch-up with events following the pandemic in 2022. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) during the same period last year amounted to €20.3m, compared to 2023’s €13.8m.

DEAG has focused on expanding its group, most recently upping its share in I-Motion to fully acquire the electronic dance music promoter.

Compared to 2019, revenue increased 73.3% from €123.1m. EBITDA increased from €8m in the first nine months of 2019 compared to €13.8m in the first nine months of the current financial year. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €15m for the first nine months of 2023.

Within the ticketing segment of the business, DEAG sells the majority of its tickets for concerts and live events through the group’s ticketing platforms including myticket, gigantic and tickets(.ie).

The live touring segment brought in €9.9m during the first nine months of 2023, compared to €18m during the same period the year prior. The entertainment services division posted a total of €8.3m for the first nine months compared to €7.5m last year.

“DEAG’s growth in 2023 exceeds our expectations,” said Prof. Peter Schwenkow, chief executive of DEAG. “Without acquisitions in the current year and without significant catch-up effects as in 2022, the company has reached a new level of revenue and earnings compared to the pre-pandemic period.

“We are particularly pleased with the development in the ticketing and services businesses. DEAG is succeeding in selling an increasing share of tickets for concerts and events via its own ticketing platforms. The share of sales by third parties is also increasing. We will continue on our successful growth path, as M&A will remain a building block of our strategy. We are in advanced discussions with potential companies and will continue to establish new companies abroad.”

This year, DEAG has organised a number of tours, concerts and live events including festivals Nature One, Syndicate and Airbeat One. Tours from the likes of Kiss, Iron Maiden, Donny Osmond and Rod Stewart have also offered a boost during the reporting period.

DEAG now generates roughly half of its consolidated revenue from its own event formats, with many tickets sold via its own ticketing platforms.