STI H1 earnings rocket to P912M
STI Education Systems Holdings Inc. booked a 76-percent surge in profits in the first half of its fiscal year covering July to December 2024 as more students enrolled in its schools.
The tycoon Eusebio Tanco-led company said its net income during the period stood at P912.2 million, up from P517.8 million previously.
Revenues likewise swelled by 34 percent to P2.63 billion.
This was driven by a 15-percent increase in enrollment to more than 138,000 students across STI Education Services Group (STI ESG), STI West Negros University (STI WNU) and iAcademy.
STI ESG accounted for the majority of the student enrollment at 121,374, up by 17 percent, on more enrollees in both company-owned and franchised schools.
Meanwhile, STI WNU booked a 9-percent uptick in enrollees to 14,503 students.
Enrollment in Commission on Higher Education-regulated programs also increased by 7 percent to 36,827 students.
STI’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expanded by 48 percent to P1.38 billion.
In the October to December quarter alone, its net income jumped by a third to P649 million, while revenues climbed by 22 percent to P1.59 billion.
The company said “improved efficiency and financial strength” lifted its operating income during the quarter by 25 percent to P710.6 million.
Capacity challenge
Tanco, chair of STI, earlier told reporters that they had wanted to build more campuses to further increase the company’s bottom line.
“I think the challenge on STI right now is capacity. We have to build more [schools],” he said.
Earlier this month, the company broke ground for a new campus in Alabang, Muntinlupa City worth around P950 million.
The school in South Park District is expected to accommodate up to 10,000 senior high school and college students, according to STI, and is slated to begin operations next year.
STI also announced last year that it had bought the 61-year-old Philippine School of Business Administration (PSBA) to expand its school network.
PSBA currently has campuses in Manila and Quezon City.
