Schwenkow Shrugs Off Share Slide

DEAG chief Peter Schwenkow appears to have shrugged off news of the German company’s share price slipping from euro 1.68 to euro 1.24 in the last six months because Q2 earnings before interest and tax are up 23 percent to euro 2.4 million.

“I’m very pleased because there’s strong growth in revenues and EBIT,” he said, adding that he expects more to come before the end of the year.

Rival German promoter and ticket seller CTS Eventim also produced some decent results, although it’s done little to reverse a share price drop from euro 27 to euro 22.75 in the last three months.

However well the companies are doing, the credit crunch looks to have caused German investors to twist their heels on the live entertainment business and keep their euros in their pockets or use them to buy some gold.

DEAG says the sales growth that’s driven revenues up 27 percent to euro 39.2 million has mainly come from rock and pop tours and the classical music open-air concerts in Germany and Austria.

Mid-year sales climbed 26 percent to euro 53.8 million and the pre-tax and interest profit is also 23 percent higher, at euro 3.1 million.

Schwenkow’s wide-ranging live music business interests are well illustrated by the diverse talent that contributed to ticket sales, including Anna Netrebko, Kylie Minogue, Rolando Villazón, Foo Fighters, Plácido Domingo, Alicia Keys, Lang Lang and Backstreet Boys.

The diary for the second half of the year includes open-air concerts by James Blunt, Madonna, R.E.M. and Jovanotti in Switzerland, once again showing why Schwenkow regards Andre Bechir’s Zurich-based Good News as DEAG’s “pearl.”

So far, the German tours inked in before the end of the year include Leonard Cohen, Paul Potts, Udo Lindenberg, Alicia Keys and Deep Purple.