STI posts profit of P459.8M as of Dec. ’14

Private school network operator STI Education Systems Holdings Inc. reported a net profit of P459.8 million for the nine-month period ending December 2014, 21 percent lower year-on-year, as the company booked depreciation expenses on new academic centers.

For the quarter ending December, net profit doubled to P277.33 million from P129.65 million year-on-year while revenues were up by 15 percent to P619.28 million.

For the nine-month period, STI said in a press statement that the depreciation expenses had been anticipated with the construction of six new academic centers in Ortigas-Cainta, Cubao, Calamba, Caloocan, Batangas, and Lucena as part of its ongoing expansion program.

STI said it expected to eventually recover depreciation costs as new students are seen to come with the upgraded facilities.

For the nine-month period, STI generated gross revenues of P1.594 billion.

Revenues increased by 17 percent year-on-year to P230 million, driven by the increased enrollment in the STI network and West Negros University (WNU), based on a regulatory filing.

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 Oct. 1, 2013, stood at 6,466 students in school year 2014 to 2015 compared to 5,000 students the previous school-year. This number included the students from the former STI Bacolod, which was integrated into WNU.

Income from tuition and other school fees increased by 20 percent to P1.37 billion year-on-year.

Cash flow as measured by earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) during the nine-month period also grew by 21 percent year-on-year to P670.8 million.

STI has 80 STI-branded schools nationwide, broken down into 66 colleges and 14-STI branded educational centers. Doris C. Dumlao