2015-02-18
MANILA, Philippines STI Education Systems Holdings Inc. ended 2014 with an impressive performance, generating gross revenues of P1.594 billion during the nine-month period ending in December 2014.
Revenues increased by P230 million or about 17 percent higher than the P1.364 billion amount reported during the same period in 2013, STI Holdings said in a regular report submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange Friday.
The increase in revenues was driven by the increased enrollment in the STI network and the West Negros University (WNU) students.
The total number of students in schools owned by STI Holdings increased from 76,195 in 2013 to 80,200 students in 2014 or an increase of 5.3 percent.
Enrollment in WNU alone, which was acquired by STI on October 1, 2013, stood at 6,466 students in school year 2014 to 2015 as against last year 5,000 students. This number includes the students from the former STI Bacolod which has been integrated into WNU.
As a result, income from tuition and other school fees increased by P229.0 million to P1.370 billion compared to the previous year figure of P1.141 billion.
Earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) during the said period also surged from P552.5 million to P670.8 million, up by 21 percent or P118.3 million. Income from operations is also seven percent higher at P437.6 million.
Net income for the period was at P459.8 million, which is lower than the P584.3 million it posted during the same months last year. However, the decline is largely due to increased depreciation expenses on completed school facilities.
The depreciation is anticipated with the construction of new schools as STI Holdings just recently built six academic centers in Ortigas Cainta, Cubao, Calamba, Caloocan, Batangas, and Lucena as part of its ongoing massive expansion.
STI Holdings expects to bounce back from the depreciation costs in the years following the completion of construction as new students are expected to come with the upgraded facilities.
STI Holdings currently has 80 STI branded schools nationwide composed of 66-STI branded colleges and 14-STI branded educational centers. The company also owns iACADEMY, which has recently transferred to its own â campus in the Makati Central Business District.
The company continues to show signs of growth. Just last January 20, it inaugurated â academic centers in Calamba City and Batangas City. The school in Calamba is a five-storey building with an area of 7,397 square meters, while the one in Batangas has 5,621 square meters. The schools can accommodate up to 4,000 students combined.
Two days after the inauguration of Calamba and Batangas, STI Holdings also inaugurated the STI Academic Center in Cubao a 3,768-square-meter property which can accommodate as many as 5,500 students. It also opened its Lucena campus last January 27.
STI Holdings is included in the list of top 50 Philippine-listed companies evaluated under the Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard. The top listed companies from six participating Asean member-countries were evaluated based on the international standards of corporate governance, including the five Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development principles of corporate governance.
STI Holdings is also one of the 61 companies listed, as of December 2014, as Shariah-compliant securities, following a screening of 296 listed firms assessed for their compliance with the rules, regulations, teachings, and values that govern the lives of Muslims.
