DEAG continued on its growth trajectory in the first three quarters of the 2024 financial year.
The Berlin-based promoter, events operator and ticketing company set a new record in terms of revenue for the first nine months of a financial year. Revenue rose by around 19% to €252.8 million. Revenue in the third quarter rose by 33% to €120.1 million.
The company continues to expect a year-on-year increase in revenue for the full year 2024.
DEAG reported significantly higher production costs for events, which could not be fully offset by the rise in ticket prices. Storms and heavy rainfall in the summer months prevented a few open-air concerts and festivals from being held.
An investment programme will further digitalise and modernise the IT infrastructure in support of ticketing. DEAG plans to interlink its ticketing platforms more efficiently and open up new revenue channels in order to drive its organic growth.
In October, the company acquired the Italian live entertainment organiser MC2 Live as part of its international expansion strategy.
“These acquisitions will enable DEAG to realise considerable synergies in the areas of live entertainment and ticketing, as well as in the development of new locations and formats and the acquisition of artists, and reduce costs in the long term,” said a statement.
DEAG organised more than 6,000 concerts, festivals and live events of all sizes and genres in the first nine months of the year. These included concerts and tours by AC/DC, Andreas Gabalier, UB40, Simply Red, Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Toto and shows such as Disney on Ice.
The concert and touring sector in 2025 will include shows from Stereophonics, Andrea Bocelli and Iron Maiden.
By the end of September 2024, DEAG had sold around 8.5 million tickets for current and upcoming events, an increase of 35% compared to the previous year.
“2024 is an important year of transformation for DEAG,” said Detlef Kornett, group CEO of DEAG. “We have initiated and already implemented several investment programmes and continued our Buy & Build strategy despite a challenging environment for the entire industry. We made a clear commitment to these extensive investments and therefore also accepted a decline in EBITDA.
“We are investing heavily to sustainably drive our company’s development and offer our visitors even more unforgettable live experiences, both digitally and on site. Thanks to our strong financial structure, a diverse and high-calibre event portfolio and strong ticket sales, we are already bullish about 2025.”
PHOTO: Detlef Kornett pictured with Andrea Pieroni, founder of MC2 Live