The number of students at private higher education specialist Stadio rose more than one-tenth, the company said in its interim results on Tuesday, as more students took up distance learning.
Student enrolment rose by 11.2% to 38,348, with more than four-fifths of them doing distance learning in the six months end-June. This trend continued after the reporting period with 41,544 students registered at the R2.8bn company in August.
The proportion of distance-learning students has grown over the past five years from 80% in the first half of 2017 to 85% now in part because of the relaxation of lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The group — whose brands include Afda, Milpark Education, LISOF and others — offers 87 certified programmes in education, commerce, management and administration, policing, law, information technology, fashion, film, media, design and architecture. There are 31 programmes in the development and/or accreditation phases.
Stadio listed on the JSE in 2017 after unbundling from the larger private education business Curro in 2017 and now aims to enrol 56,000 students by 2026.
Revenue increased 12.6% to R617m and profit after tax jumped 23.5% to R105m. Core earnings are up 19.3% to R192m and core headline earnings by 17.8% to R96.1m. Stadio uses core headline earnings, headline earnings adjusted for certain non-recurring or non-cash items that in the board’s view may distort financial results, as a barometer of its success.
No interim dividend was declared after its maiden dividend in March. Stadio has decided to only pay out annual dividends if possible.
CEO Chris Vorster told the group’s AGM in June that the business had entered a new growth stage after the opening of its mega-campus in Centurion in Gauteng earlier this year.
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