DEAG with nearly balanced EBITDA in first half of 2020 despite the COVID-19 crisis

- EBITDA of EUR -0.3 million in the first half year with EUR -1.5 million in the second quarter only as a result of a massive cost-cutting programme and the benefit of extensive insurance coverage

- New DEAG event formats developed and implemented with high customer acceptance -

           "COVID-19-compatible" successful Christmas Garden event format could exceed expectations

- Very solid financial base with EUR 50 million in liquidity

- Full event pipeline, around 2.5 million tickets sold and already more than EUR 100 million in contracted sales as a driver for further growth after the crisis

Berlin, 28 August 2020 - DEAG Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft (Prime Standard, ISIN: DE000A0Z23G6, ticker symbol: LOUD, "DEAG") has demonstrated its ability to withstand the effects of the COVID-19 crisis and the related slump in sales in its results for the first half of 2020. At EUR - 0.3 million (previous year: EUR 3.1 million), EBITDA was nearly balanced in the first half of the year and was only EUR -1.5 million (previous year: EUR 2.1 million) in the second quarter, in which the live entertainment industry was particularly hard affected by the lockdown. Sales in the first half of the year amounted to EUR 31.7 million (previous year EUR 63.9 million) and to EUR 5.6 million (previous year: EUR 38.4 million) in the second quarter. Significant cost savings, of more than 30 percent compared to the first quarter of 2020, as well as DEAG's extensive insurance coverage were the basis for the solid result.

In recent months, DEAG has also reacted quickly and consistently to the changing market conditions by developing new formats. New events and digital content have been developed and successfully implemented. For example, the electronic festival NATURE ONE took place virtually in August for the first time with 4.5 million users following the livestream. Following the high visitor turnout at our drive in event, BW-Bank Kulturwasen in Stuttgart, is now extended until the end of September, when it is projected to have drawn around 100,000 visitors. With Stage Drive in Frankfurt, DEAG also set the tone in the Rhine-Main region and the virtual reality format TimeRide is going on a time travel again with an adapted distance and hygiene concept.

Preparations for Christmas Garden 2020/2021 are now in full swing at eleven locations. DEAG had already developed this format in 2016 and successfully established it on the market both nationally and internationally. It also offers a "COVID-19-compatible" Christmas experience outdoors with great distance between individuals. DEAG assumes that the previously expected increase to between 1.2 million and 1.5 million visitors (previous year: 950,000 visitors) in the current year can even be exceeded due to how advance sales are currently developing.

DEAG is ideally positioned for the future thanks to its substantial financial resources and high density of events. As of 30 June 2020, the Group's liquid funds, including agreed bank lines, totalled around EUR 50 million. Significant inflows of funds are ensured by the smooth settlement of claims by the insurance company for events cancelled or postponed by force majeure. In recent months, DEAG has already received EUR 9.0 million in insurance benefits, with another EUR 5.1 million in the settlement process. The insurance coverage will continue to apply without restriction for events that have already been postponed.

For future events, DEAG has good visibility of a revenue base of over EUR 100 million already after the first half of 2020. DEAG benefits from the high level of loyalty of its customers, nearly 90 percent of whom have indicated that they will keep their tickets for postponed events. In conjunction with the current voucher solution in place in Germany, this will further secure DEAG's liquidity position. At the end of the first half of the year, DEAG had already sold a total of around 2.5 million tickets in Germany, Switzerland and the UK (including Scotland), not including events such as Christmas Garden. A very significant share of the tickets are distributed via the Group's own ticketing platforms, MyTicket and Gigantic.com, as DEAG participates in all major stages of the value chain. Following the encouraging performance in the first half of the year, DEAG is aiming for at least balanced EBITDA for the full year 2020.

"We are satisfied with the economic result in the first half of 2020 against the backdrop of the drastic restrictions imposed by COVID-19 on us. Above all, we are demonstrating operationally that DEAG can develop and implement successful events in any market environment, provided the regulatory framework allows it. I am extremely grateful to all our employees not only for their ideas, but also for their motivation and commitment to our cost reduction and efficiency programmes. Our enormous efforts are proving to be a great success. Due to DEAG's strong financial resources, the time scale of the crisis is not the main focus of our considerations. On the contrary, our dense calendar of events for 2021, many millions of tickets sold and already more than EUR 100 million in contracted revenues at the end of the first half of the year make us very optimistic. For the vast majority of these revenues in the coming year, we also have full insurance coverage again, including cancellation due to force majeure," said Prof. Peter L.H. Schwenkow, CEO of DEAG.

The complete half-year Financial Report will be available for download on DEAG's website in the course of 28 August 2020.

Investor & Public Relations
edicto GmbH
Axel Mühlhaus
Phone: 0049 69 905505-52
Email: deag@edicto.de

About DEAG

DEAG Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft (DEAG) is a leading entertainment service company and a provider of Live Entertainment in Europe. With its Group companies, DEAG has been present in 11 locations in its core markets Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland for more than 40 years. As a Live Entertainment service company with an integrated business model, DEAG has extensive expertise in planning, organising, marketing and promoting events.

Founded in Berlin in 1978 and listed on the stock exchange since 1998, DEAG's core business areas nowadays include Rock/Pop, Classics & Jazz, Family Entertainment, Arts+Exhibitions and Ticketing. Especially Family Entertainment and Arts+Exhibitions are elementary building blocks for the further development of the company's own content.

More than 5 million tickets for over 4,000 events were sold in 2019, a continuously growing share of these via the Group's own e-commerce platforms "MyTicket" and "Gigantic.com" for its own and third-party content.

Through its strong partner network, DEAG is excellently positioned in the market as an internationally active live entertainment service provider.

DEAG shares (ISIN: DE000A0Z23G6 | WKN: A0Z23G | stock exchange symbol: LOUD) are listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the quality segment of the German Stock Exchange.