Features
DEAG Sales Soar To Pre-Corona Levels In Q1 2022
DEAG’s preliminary results for the first three months of the 2022 business year show a large number of events leading to strong sales and earnings.
In the first three months of 2022, sales of around €31 million ($32 million) were generated, according to DEAG’s earnings statement. It’s a surge compared to the same period last year, when operating sales were €1.1 million and reported sales €4 million.
“Sales returned to pre-Corona levels in the first quarter 2022 and even increased compared to the first quarter 2018 (€27 million) and 2019 (€25.5 million),” DEAG’s Q1 earnings statement reads.
The increase is the result of “the rapidly progressing normalization and thus a large number of events in all of DEAG’s national markets,” it continues.
According to DEAG, “ticket sales for future events are also developing very positively.” Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the first quarter of 2022 were around €2.8 million ($2.9 million), compared to € 2.4 million in the previous year, which was “considerably higher than planned.”
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What is more, for the first time in DEAG’s history, the ticketing segment was profitable in the traditionally weaker first quarter. According to the company’s leadership, “this confirms the high potential of this segment and supports the strong growth envisaged in the current year. Overall, this is set to continue in financial year 2022: Sales for the full year are expected to multiply year-on-year and significantly exceed pre-corona levels. In terms of EBITDA, a clear growth trend is also emerging for 2022.”
DEAG held its successful Christmas Garden format, among other events, in the first quarter of 2022. In the 2021/2022 season, which lasted until mid-January 2022, a total of around 1.9 million visitors were counted at 18 locations in Germany, the U.K., Spain and France.
Due to high demand and good capacity utilization, the Christmas Garden was extended into the first quarter of 2022 at several venues. The international literature festival lit.COLOGNE counted more than 150 individual events, attracting over 70,000 visitors. In addition, DEAG organized very successful concerts by Simply Red, and Texas in the U.K., and Bonnie Tyler in Switzerland, among other events, between January and March.
The 30th anniversary of electronic festival Mayday took place at Westfalenhallen in Dortmund in April, attracting over 15,000 visitors, and Dita von Teese’s burlesque show “Glamonatrix,” which toured the U.K., was also a “resounding success,” according to the Q1/2022 earnings report.
The strong ticket sales handled via DEAG’s own ticketing platforms, MyTicket and Gigantic.com, are expected to continue. DEAG states that it has already sold more than 6.3 million tickets for events in its core markets for the coming quarters.
DEAG took advantage of the interruption in the live entertainment business during the past two years to drive its international expansion. This process is expected to continue in 2022.
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Prof. Peter L.H. Schwenkow, CEO of DEAG, commented, “Finally! Following the paralysis of the entire live entertainment industry caused by corona, we can shift into forward gear operationally once again and do what we burn for: to host exciting events. The audience reactions and our first quarter figures show that we are extremely successful with this. We increased our operating sales by a factor of twenty-eight, a result that we owe entirely to our operational strength.
“Our EBITDA is also clearly positive. The COVID-19-related conditions have since eased further, so we will be burning off event fireworks in the coming quarters. For example, we will stage concerts with stars such as KISS, Ed Sheeran in the UK, Iron Maiden, Zucchero, Die Toten Hosen, Anna Netrebko and Die Ärzte, as well as open-air festivals such as NATURE ONE, Belladrum and “Sion sous les étoiles.” We are excellently positioned for the restart of the industry. In 2022 as a whole, we will massively increase our sales and even significantly exceed the pre-corona level.”