Entertainment company DEAG posted its highest revenue and EBITDA in company history in 2022.
According to preliminary figures, revenue in 2022 amounted to €325m (£288m/$354m) compared to €90.7m in the year prior. This is an increase of 258% compared to 2021, and also an increase on the €185m posted in 2019.
Consolidated revenue amounted to roughly €352m in 2022 compared to €97m in the previous year and €197m in 2019.
EBITDA for 2022 amounted to €31m, a 40% increase on the previous year’s €22m and higher than the pre-pandemic total of €14m in 2019.
DEAG sold more than nine million tickets in 2022, an increase on the five million tickets sold before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Ticket sales from platforms Myticket and Gigantic Tickets were complemented by the acquisition of Irish ticketing platform Tickets(.ie).
DEAG also acquired a number of promoters, festivals and events across various genres over the last year and a half. The company further branched out and acquired spoken word and literary events, and in the arts and culture sector.
The momentum of the previous three quarters in 2022 resulted in a strong fourth quarter. Revenue in this quarter rose by 35% to roughly €90m and EBITDA increased by 21.6% to approximately €11m. DEAG said that this performance was driven by high advance ticket sales for 2023 and strong Christmas business.
DEAG is aiming to sell over 10 million tickets in 2023 for over 6,000 events.
Peter L H Schwenkow, chief executive of DEAG, said: “The enormous recovery and growth in revenue and EBITDA well above the level of the last comparable financial year 2019, a rock-solid balance sheet and a consistently implemented growth strategy characterised the year 2022 for DEAG. Our expansion measures, which we continued unwaveringly during the corona caesura, are bearing fruit.
“We will continue to move forward along this path. We sell ‘the little slice of happiness’ even in economically difficult times and have always seen particularly high demand, especially in recession years. With an increasing number of their own branded and thus also high-margin event formats, an organisation and crew created for growth and ticketing that is growing steadily and with good margins, we can be confident for the years ahead. With the tailwind of strong annual figures and a very positive operating performance, we also see ourselves very well prepared for the upcoming refinancing of our corporate bond as well as the further consistent implementation of the corporate strategy.”
DEAG will continue to examine various options for refinancing the 2018/2023 bond, including the option of issuing a new corporate bond depending on the market environment.
A possible new bond could be used for the early refinancing of the 2018/2023 bond, while sufficient liquidity is already available for the foreseeable growth due to the excellent business development.