More enrollees boost STI Holdings’s 2012 profits by 171%

MANILA, Philippines – Listed STI Education System Holdings, which owns a network of schools nationwide, posted a 171% increase in its net income for the fiscal year ending March 2013.

In a stock exchange filing on Tuesday, July 16, STI Holdings reported a net income of P794.2 million from April 2012 to March 2013, almost triple the P292.6 million it earned in the previous year.

This means it earned over P206 million in January to March after posting P587.7 million, or a 164% increase year-on-year, in the fiscal year’s first 9 months.  

The company told the exchange it also gained P465 million from its 20% stake in STI Investments Inc. during the year.

It said consolidated revenues reached P1.66 billion, up P1.57 billion a year ago, largely due to the increase in the number of enrollees. 

Three schools 

STI Holdings’s total student population in the 3 schools it owns increased to 68,363 from 66,740 in 2012.

For School Year (SY) 2012-13, the company said “there was no increase in the tuition fees and other school fees” but it collected higher tuition and other school fees due to the increased number of students.  

It owns STI Education Services Group (ESG), which operates one of the largest networks of schools in the country. ESG’s tuition and school fees collection increased by P84.6 million to P1.36 billion from the previous year’s P1.27 billion. It cited an increase of 3.04% in the average total enrollment for the first and second semesters of SY 2012-13.

It also saw a more profitable mix of enrollees during the school year. “STI ESG’s enrolment mix was more favorable in 2013 than in 2012, as enrolment leaned more towards the STI Network’s four-year programs than the two-year programs. Ratio in 2013 was 71% four-year programs and 29% two-year programs, as compared to 65% and 35%, respectively, in 2012. The four-year programs charge higher tuition and bring in more revenue per student.”

STI Holdings also operates iAcademy, which specializes in courses offering in animation, multimedia and graphic acts, and De Los Santos-STI College, a health and science nursing schools.

It also owns stake in Philippine Women’s University, which has more than 4,700 students.

Expansion

The company aims to boost enrollment to 100,000 by 2015. 

“The company is still in search of sites to serve as campuses of the 3-owned schools identified to be expanded. The company is also on the look-out for possible mergers and/or acquisitions of existing tertiary school,” STI Holdings said.

The company is currently conducting a due diligence on a university in the Visayas that it is eyeing to purchase.

Funding for the expansion plans would come from the P2.36 billion equity raised from the sale of 2.627 billion shares in 2012.

STI Holdings operates 85 STI schools, of which 30 are wholly owned while 55 are owned by franchisees. It is the holding company within the Tanco Group that drives investment in its education business.

Aside from education services, Tanco group is also engaged various industries including mining, pre-need, port operations and gaming. – Rappler.com