DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG) has announced record financial results for the fiscal year 2025, with revenue surging approximately 33% to EUR 490.0 million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) more than doubling to EUR 32.1 million. The company also achieved an all-time high in ticket sales, exceeding 12 million tickets, providing strong visibility for the remainder of the financial year.
The revenue increase was driven by strong performance across all business segments, with the fourth quarter contributing EUR 167.2 million, a 42.9% year-on-year increase. The EBITDA margin improved significantly from 3.9% to 6.6%, reflecting enhanced operational efficiency and successful cost management. DEAG's proprietary ticketing platforms, including myticket.de, gigantic.com, and tickets.ie, played a key role in driving ticket sales, with a substantial proportion of transactions occurring through these channels.
By the end of 2025, DEAG had already sold approximately 3 million tickets for events scheduled in 2026, securing EUR 151.5 million in future revenue. This advance sales momentum underscores the company's robust planning reliability and sets a solid foundation for the current fiscal year. DEAG expects ticket sales to remain at a consistently high level throughout 2026.
The company continued its buy-and-build strategy, acquiring a majority stake in the ROCKHARZ Festival, the largest rock and metal festival in eastern Germany, attracting over 25,000 visitors annually. Internationally, the Italian subsidiary MC2 Live reported an exceptionally positive performance in its first full year following acquisition in 2024. DEAG also increased its stakes in Fane Productions, a leader in the Spoken Word & Literary Events segment, and the UK ticketing platform gigantic.com to 100%, reducing minority interests as planned.
DEAG's event portfolio in 2025 featured major tours and concerts by artists such as Ed Sheeran, Iron Maiden, Marilyn Manson, and Till Lindemann, whose European tour sold over 190,000 tickets. The company's event series, including “An Evening with…” and the lit.COLOGNE literature festival, were major successes, alongside Christmas Gardens which attracted around 1.6 million visitors. Festival offerings like Indian Spirit, NATURE ONE, and Belladrum Tartan Heart also performed strongly.
Looking ahead to 2026, DEAG has a high density of events planned, including tours by Judas Priest, Die Toten Hosen, Bring Me The Horizon, and Gorillaz, as well as special events like “Monster Jam” at Schalke arena and “The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring in Concert” with the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The company has continued its M&A activity into 2026, acquiring remaining minority interests in Wizard Live and LiveGeist Entertainment, and a majority stake in the Juicy Beats festival, as well as a majority in conneccted: EVENTS & LIVE MARKETING GmbH through its subsidiary Mewes Entertainment Group.
DEAG's financial structure has been strengthened by the placement of a new Corporate Bond 2025/2029 with an issue volume of EUR 75 million. Supported by strong proprietary ticketing platforms and a diversified event portfolio, the company considers itself well-positioned for medium- and long-term growth, though it expects revenue in fiscal 2026 to be temporarily below the previous year's level due to the cyclical nature of the live entertainment industry. Nonetheless, revenue is expected to exceed EUR 400 million, with further EBITDA margin improvement anticipated. For subsequent years, DEAG forecasts a return to growth.
Detlef Kornett, Group CEO of DEAG, commented on the results, stating that the measures implemented in the transformation year 2024 to enhance competitiveness, profitability, and efficiency had a clearly positive impact in 2025. He expressed satisfaction with the strong business performance, noting that all parts of the Group contributed equally, and affirmed that DEAG is very well positioned to sustainably continue its organic and inorganic growth trajectory.
