STI profit falls 21% to P460M in 2014

MANILA, Philippines - Tanco-led STI Holdings Inc. said its profit slipped more than a fifth in 2014 as an increase in revenue was offset by a rise in depreciation costs.

In a statement issued yesterday, STI Holdings said net income registered at P459.8 million last year, 21.3 percent lower than the P584.3 million earned the previous year.

The decline was mainly due to increased depreciation expenses on completed school facilities, the company said.

STI recently built six academic centers in Ortigas Cainta, Cubao, Calamba, Caloocan, Batangas and Lucena as part of its ongoing aggressive expansion.

Revenues grew 17 percent from P1.36 billion, largely driven by the increased enrollment in the STI network and the West Negros University (WNU) students, which was acquired on Oct. 1, 2013.

The total number of STI Holdings’ student population rose 5.3 percent to 80,200 as of end 2014.

In WNU, enrollees went up by 29.3 percent to 6,466, which include students from the former STI Bacolod following the integration of the two educational institutions.

This, in turn, resulted in the increase of STI Holdings’ income from tuition and other school fees by 20.2 percent to P1.37 billion.

Earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization, meanwhile, expanded by 21 percent to P670.8 million while operating income climbed seven percent to P437.6 million.

To date, STI Holdings has 80 STI branded schools across the country.  It also owns iAcademy, which recently transferred to its own campus in the Makati central business district.

The company remains bullish about its prospects this year following the inauguration of academic centers in Calamba, Laguna, Batangas City and Cubao, which can accommodate up to 9,500 students combined.  It also opened its Lucena campus last Jan. 27.