Schulenberg Pleases Shareholders

Those who attended CTS Eventim’s annual shareholders meeting heard the good news that the German ticketing giant’s investors will be sharing a euro 11.8 million dividend between them.

Company chief Klaus-Peter Schulenberg might be as happy as any of them, as he owns a little more than 50 percent of the stock (12 million shares).

"In 2006, CTS achieved its best-ever performance since the IPO in February 2000 and has outstanding prospects for the future. We want our investors to share in that success," he told the June 8 gathering in Munich.

Earnings per share were euro 0.98, with the euro 0.49 dividend representing approximately 50 percent of net annual income.

Apart from the announcement of the handout and last year’s trading report, the main theme of the meeting was recent and future acquisitions.

The company last month bought 43 percent of the Milan-based TicketOne, which sold 13 million tickets in 2006 and made a pre-tax profit of euro 2.2 million.

It’s also said to be looking to expand to Spain and Turkey, with Servi Ticket and TicketTurk likely the respective targets.

CTS expects its online ticketing business to grow another 50 percent during the course of 2007.