Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG) has seen a major rebound in the first quarter of 2022, with sales increasing from €1.1m (£934k/$1.1m) to €31m.
For the same period in 2021, operating sales for the entertainment company were €1.1m while reported sales were €4m, showcasing how the company’s sales have returned to pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2022.
Sales before the pandemic during the same period in 2019 amounted to €25.5m and €27m in 2018.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to €2.8m in the first quarter, compared to €2.4m in the same period the year prior.
For the first time in DEAG’s history, the Ticketing segment of the business was profitable during the first quarter. The company expects sales for the full year to multiply year-on-year and exceed pre-pandemic levels.
DEAG held a Christmas Garden event, among other events, in the first quarter of 2022. In the 2021-2022 season, which lasted until mid-Germany, roughly 1.9 million visitors were counted in locations across Germany, the UK, Spain and France. Due to its popularity, the Christmas Garden was extended into the first quarter of 2022 at several venues.
Literature festival lit.COLOGNE was made up of 150 individual events and attracted more than 70,000 visitors. DEAG also organised concerts from artists Simply Red and Texas in the UK, as well as performances from Bonnie Tyler in Switzerland between January and the end of March.
DEAG expects strong ticket sales to continue via its own ticketing platforms, MyTicket and Gigantic(.com). DEAG has already sold more than 6.3 million tickets for events in its core markets for the rest of the year.
Last month, DEAG acquired A.C.T Artist Agency, while DEAG subsidiary Fane Productions took over the English subscriber service LoveMyRead.
DEAG chief executive professor Peter Schwenkow said: “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.”
He added: “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.”
Image: Nainoa Shizuru on Unsplash