New Festivals Cost DEAG

Establishing three major festivals in one year – Rock im Revier, Rockavaria, Rock in Vienna – is an expensive matter, especially if when going up against the big players.

Therefore it is not surprising that DEAG had to face a lot of one-off expenses (euro 23 million in total) in 2015, which discounted the overall earnings. Part of the expenses are related to the relocation of Rock im Revier (originally dubbed Der Ring – Grüne Hölle Rock as it was supposed to succeed Rock am Ring at Nürburgring), sparked by a legal dispute with the owners of Nürburgring (Capricorn). The company remains optimistic for 2016. Having done the groundwork in 2015, it expects to sell north of 160,000 tickets for its festivals this year.

Overall revenues grew by 16.1 percent year-on-year to euro 200.4 million. The company segments live touring and entertainment services were responsible for this, the earnings statement reads. As far as DEAG’s companies outside of Germany are concerned, Kilimanjaro Live and Raymond Gubbay performed well, the statement continues. The first months of 2016 have led DEAG to project an EBIT of at least euro 3 million to 5 million for this year. And that’s excluding a potential euro 10 million-plus in damages resulting from the Nürburgring situation.