EARNINGS of STI Education Systems Holdings, Inc. dropped by 39% in the nine months ending December 2018, dragged by the lower number of college freshman enrollees for the period.
In a regulatory filing, STI Holdings reported a net income of P190.4 million during the nine-month period, lower than the P311.6 million it posted in the same period a year ago. This followed an 11% decline in revenues to P1.997 billion.
For the three months ending December 2018 alone, the listed firm said it booked a net income of P138.67 million, also lower by 46% year-on-year. Revenues for the period stood at P771.02 million, 10% lower than the P860.33 million it generated in the three-month period ending December 2017.
The company attributed its slower performance to the lower-than-expected turnout of college freshman enrollees.
“SHS (Senior High School) enrollment also dropped significantly this year as the STI Network held the graduation of over 30,000 Grade 12 students who belonged to the first batch of SHS graduates under the K to 12 program of the government,” the company said.
At the same time, general and administrative expenses rose by 16% to P971.4 million, primarily due to advertising and promotion costs for its educational institutions.
STI Holdings operates three subsidiaries, namely STI Education Services Group (STI ESG), STI West Negros University, and iACADEMY.
STI ESG ended the nine-month period with a total of 75 schools, 38 of which are company-owned while 37 are franchised. — Arra B. Francia
