Village Roadshow – majority shareholder in the Austereo network – has painted a rosy outlook at its annual general meeting on the Gold Coast.

In line with its entertainment brand, the AGM has been staged in the Roxy Theatre at Movie World, with far fewer shareholders attending, in the wake of the company’s share buyback.

Despite little chance of an early return to dividend payouts, shareholders have been told that in the new year, the Board will look at diversifying into ‘new areas’.

Chairman, Robert Kirby, has told the AGM this involves not only looking at new markets such as India and China, but also some diversification from film production and distribution, radio stations and theme parks.

“We’re looking more deeply, more analytically, at our core expertise to see where we can leverage that expertise into some other, newer opportunities.

“We are looking for things that would be a natural adjunct to our business.

“Trading in the current year has been excellent and the company expects a very solid summer.”