2013-12-02
MANILA, Philippines After recently formalizing its purchase of the second largest university in Bacolod City, listed STI Education Systems Holdings said it is looking to acquire two more schools to beef up its expansion plans.
Although he withheld the names of the schools pending negotiations, the STI Education Systems Holdings (STI Holdings) President Monico V. Jacob hinted that one of the institutions is a university and the other is a college.
Of course we are continuing with our plans to acquire more schools. In fact, we are looking at one up north and another one in Mindanao, Â Mr. Jacob disclosed.
He said the move to get more schools under the roster of STI Holdings is part of its commitment to investors to not only to upgrade its network of 86 schools, but to also seek out school mergers, acquisitions, or both.
Mr. Jacob said apart from expanding its network, STI Holdings acquisition program is also meant to diversify the academic programs of the schools under its wings.
We have our core courses in STI. But even at STI, we are diversifying. We used to be a vocational-technical school; now we are a full-blown college offering baccalaureate courses. We've started diversifying from IT, computer science. Now we have tourism, accounting technology, business, HRM, engineering, he said.
Certainly, offering more courses to students is something we would like to be able to do, Mr. Jacob added.
He cited West Negros University in Bacolod, which STI Holdings acquired just last October 1, whose maritime studies, criminal justice, and engineering courses were among the key features of the school that piqued the interest of STI Holdings.
Apart from the diversified course offerings, Mr. Jacob said that in acquiring schools, STI Holdings is putting premium on the institutions reputation, the student population, and the size of the campus.
If these latest acquisition plans materialize, STI Holdings would have three universities since 2011, when the company invested in UNLAD Resources Development Corporation which, in turn, manages the Philippine Womens University.
Last October 20, STI Holdings disclosed that PWU also acquired 100 percent of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Makati Medical Center College, Inc. (MMCCI) from Medical Doctors, Inc. MMCC, the school division of the company behind Makati Medical Center, offers Bachelor of Science in Nursing and other health related courses.
Just recently, STI Holdings said it is set to implement major upgrades in the facilities, academic programs, and faculty roster of WNU. Among the first set of improvements to be implemented are theconstruction of new computer laboratories, upgrade of classrooms, and the putting up of wi-fi zones in the non-classroom areas of the campus.
Mr. Jacob also said it will incorporate the name of STI in the university.
STI Holdings, in its quarterly report submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange last November, said it is well on track with its ambitious expansion program, saying it already acquired properties in Cainta, Rizal; Las Piñas City; Quezon City and Caloocan City with a combined worth of about P1 billion. The properties will serve as new sites for STI schools in the area.
STI Holdings also completed the acquisition of a real estate property with buildings in Batangas City in the amount of P122.1 million. The property will be the new site of the STI Batangas school, whose original franchise was bought back by the company.
It said construction of new schools is also in full swing. STI Holdings said that as of September 30, it has signed construction contracts worth P1.6 billion to ensure that the schools would be completed on schedule.
Preparatory work on building construction for STI Calamba has also commenced. This is in line with the planned expansion of the existing facilities of STI-owned schools.
In the same report, STI Holdings reported an impressive P454.6 million in net income during the six-month period ending in September 30 this year up by 60 percent from the P283.8 million it gained during the same period last year.
The company also generated revenues amounting to P826.9 million during the said period, which is 11 percent higher than the P742.1 million recorded in the same period last year, due mainly to the increase in the number of students of STI Education Services Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
The company said that its schools took in a total of 71,195 students this school year, which is 2,832 higher than the number of enrollees during the last school year.
It added that the enrollment mix was more favorable in 2013 as compared to 2012, with more students opting for the four-year programs rather than the two-year programs. The four-year programs are the CHED approved courses while the two-year programs are the TESDA courses.
