DEAG Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft reports about 2015 marked by non-recurring effects and gives a positive outlook for 2016

2016-04-15 13:31:21
DGAP-News: DEAG Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft reports about 2015 marked by non-recurring effects and gives a positive outlook for 2016

DGAP-News: DEAG Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft / Key word(s): Final Results/Forecast

2016-04-15 / 13:31
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Corporate press release

DEAG reports about 2015 marked by non-recurring effects and gives a positive outlook for 2016

– Sales revenues after consolidation jump significantly to more than EUR 200 million

– Non-recurring expenditure has also burdened the earnings during the full year, as expected: EBIT EUR -17.8 million

– Successful setting of the strategic courses in Live Entertainment und Ticketing

– Market share of myticket continues to grow

– Clear operation in the black anticipated for 2016 – current forecast might be outperformed

Berlin, April 15, 2016 – DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG (ISIN: DE000A0Z23G6 | symbol: ERMK) reports about fiscal 2015 and the outlook for 2016.

Development of sales revenues

The consolidated Group sales revenues based on IFRS improved significantly in accordance with the audited financial statements for fiscal year 2015 to EUR 200.4 million. This corresponds to a plus versus prior year of 16.1 percent. The growth was equally driven by the two segments Live Touring and Entertainment Services of DEAG. As far as the Group companies outside Germany are concerned, Kilimanjaro Live and Raymond Gubbay recorded a very good development. In Switzerland the restructuring of the business was successfully implemented at the end of the year, so that a significantly rising development is expected in 2016.

Festivals

On the festival market, DEAG has established itself with several events in the German-speaking countries. In this way DEAG has succeeded in entering a market on which it can generate in future a clear six-digit number of tickets per year. The Group’s own ticketing platform myticket.de will likewise benefit in an above-average manner from this development. During the current year the number of festival visitors is likely to increase to more than 160,000.

Altogether, the non-recurring expenditure for the establishment of the festivals amounted to around EUR 23 million; it has been fully taken into account in the 2015 financial statements. During the 4th quarter 2015 alone risk provisions were made for reasons of prudence for this business unit in the amount of EUR 4 million. The economic result of the festivals was still disappointing in 2015 and remained significantly behind expectations due to unexpected high non-recurring expenditure in the festival segment, which resulted, amongst other things, from a necessary relocation and a legal dispute with a former partner.

With the first-time staging of the festivals in 2015 a sound basis has been created for growing sales figures, on the one hand and an annual cost basis reduced by EUR 21 million with the same quality level for the festivals in 2016 and beyond, on the other hand. The management is confident that the festival unit will make a continuous positive contribution to the result of DEAG after a successful establishment.

Development of earnings

The EBIT amounted in 2015, taking into account all non-recurring effects, to EUR -17.8 million versus EUR 4.2 million during the previous year. This includes a positive one-time effect which results from the divestiture of the business unit “Jahrhunderthalle”. The earnings before taxes amounted to EUR -18.8 million (PY: EUR 2.5 million) and the earnings after taxes from continuing operations amounted to EUR -18.9 million (PY: EUR 2.4 million).

Outlook 2016

The anticipated positive business development in 2016 has become apparent with increasing clarity at DEAG during the first months of the year. DEAG is, therefore, confident that it can outperform the annual forecast made on February 4, 2016, which provides for a positive EBIT of at least EUR 3 to 5 million for the current year. This forecast does not include possible positive contributions to earnings which might result from claims of more than EUR 10 million, which are asserted in court by DEAG against a former partner in the festival area.

Family Entertainment and Ticketing have emerged as strong additional growth drivers. DEAG has succeeded during the past months in entering into many agreements in this segment for crowd-pulling events of international stature, whose terms go partly until 2020. This year’s pipeline is already very well filled with productions such as Disney on Ice, Riverdance, Circus Roncalli, several Christmas Circus productions and Marvel Universe Live!. Altogether, Family Entertainment is likely to contribute some EUR 25 million, with attractive margins, to the Group sales revenues in 2016.

DEAG is increasingly focusing on Ticketing in the four countries with a strong presence. In the wake of this digitization strategy, peripheral activities are ramped down. Within the framework of this transformation process, the DEAG Music label will concentrate in future on the support and successful development of the existing artist portfolio as well as the exploitation of the existing catalogue.

As far as the Group’s own ticketing platforms myticket.de and myticket.co.uk are concerned, the positive development of the past months continues; their market share is constantly rising. DEAG pushes the scheduled enhancement of its market position in Ticketing. At myticket.de it can rely with Axel Springer SE and Starwatch Entertainment GmbH (ProSiebenSat.1 Group) on further high-performance shareholders (20 percent stake each) and media partners.

DEAG Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft
The Executive Board

Contact for further information:
Axel Mühlhaus | edicto GmbH | Tel: +49-69-90 550 552 | Email: deag@edicto.de