Features
DEAG Reports ‘Excellent First Half Of 2022’
DEAG’s Q2 earnings show that group revenue rose by 109% from €63.9 million ($54.5 million) to €133.4 million ($113.7 million) compared to the first half of the pre-crisis year 2019 – a “very good operating performance for the first half of financial year 2022,” according to a company statement.
EBITDA, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, increased from €3.1 million (€2.6 million) to €10.1 million ($8.6 million) – a 226% increase that “exceeded projections,” according to the statement.
The lifting of “nearly all corona restrictions (…) in all of DEAG’s national markets,” has been a growth factor. Companies acquired in recent years, including Fane Productions, Gigantic.com and C² CONCERTS, as well as “catch-up effects in the live entertainment industry” post-COVID also contributed to the increases in the key financial figures.
DEAG successfully staged a large number of concerts and events in the first half of 2022, including Ed Sheeran in the UK, and KISS and Zucchero in Germany. In Switzerland, the bestselling shows came from Die Ärzte, Die Toten Hosen and Iron Maiden, among others.
The international literature festival lit.COLOGNE, and Germany’s largest philosophy festival phil.cologne were “great successes” in DEAG’s spoken word segment.
Sold-out open-air festivals Nature One (Germany), Belladrum (UK), and Sion sous les étoiles (Switzerland) made for a strong summer.
DEAG also acquired electronic music festival Airbeat One, which attracts some 60,000 visitors annually, making it one of the largest festivals in Germany. The company expects synergy effects from the acquisition in both the live entertainment and ticketing business, particularly for the DEAG Group company I-Motion, the organiser of the electronic music festival Nature One.
See: DEAG Acquires Airbeat One Festival Germany
The live entertainment sector expects consolidation in the post-pandemic era, which led into a challenging economic reality, and DEAG plans to play “an active role,” driving its growth through mergers and acquisitions. “One focus here is on complementary ticketing acquisitions. The company is currently engaged in concrete talks with potential acquisition targets,” according to the earnings statement.
DEAG states that it has a strong financial base of over €100 million ($85 million), with equity amounting to around €30 million ($25 million). In light of this and based on the strong first half of the year, the company currently expects its revenue to increase to over €300 million ($256 million) for the full year 2022, with a further improvement in EBITDA. The first quarter of 2023 is already looking strong, according to DEAG.
“Live is back! We are very pleased with our operational development in the first half of the year. Our teams have done a great job and held all of the events planned, despite material shortages and a lack of skilled workers in all markets. Our thanks also go to the many fans and guests at our events. After more than two years of the corona pandemic, people are eager to attend concerts and enjoy good entertainment. In some cases, visitors have kept tickets for up to three years in order to be able to be part of the restart of the event industry. With great joy and enthusiasm, we have set off the event fireworks we announced and will continue to delight visitors with top-class events in the coming months. We sold over 3 million tickets between June and August 2022 alone and expect one of the strongest third quarters in the company’s history. Especially in the current environment, we want more than ever to bring “a little happiness” to people. And we will do so many thousands of times in the months ahead,” explained Prof. Peter L.H. Schwenkow, CEO of DEAG.
Looking ahead, preparations for DEAG’s successful Christmas Garden format are in full swing. The number of locations will be expanded again in the upcoming 2022/2023 season, adding two new national markets, Italy and Poland, among other new sites.
The full Half-Year Financial Report will be published Aug. 31 on the company’s website.