AcadeMedias delårsrapport juli 2022 – mars 2023

Summary of the third quarter (January – March 2023)

• Net sales increased by 10.3 percent and amounted to SEK 4,195 million (3,802). Organic growth, including bolt-on acquisitions, was 7.5 percent.
• Operating profit (EBIT) amounted to SEK 361 million (313).
• Adjusted operating profit, adjusted for items affecting comparability and effects of IFRS 16, amounted to SEK 277 million (264). Items affecting comparability amounted to SEK -6 million (-27).
• Net profit for the period amounted to SEK 170 million (155).
• Earnings per share was SEK 1.60 (1.47) after dilution. Adjusted for IFRS 16, earnings per share was SEK 1.85 (1.67) after dilution.
• The average number of children and students in preschool, compulsory school, and upper secondary school during the third quarter was 99,076 (93,092), representing an increase of 6.4 percent.

Summary the first nine months (July 2022 – March 2023)

• Net sales increased by 8.1 percent to SEK 11,340 million (10,488). Organic growth, including bolt-on acquisitions, was 5.5 percent.
• Operating profit (EBIT) amounted to SEK 865 million (887).
• Operating profit, adjusted for items affecting comparability and effects of IFRS 16, amounted to SEK 631 million (722). Items affecting comparability amounted to SEK -22 million (-50).
• Net profit for the period amounted to SEK 372 million (441).
• Diluted earnings per share was SEK 3.52 (4.17). Adjusted for IFRS 16, diluted earnings per share was SEK 4.19 (4.78).
• The average number of children and students in preschool, compulsory school, and upper secondary school during the first nine months was 97,559 (92,295), representing an increase of 5.7 percent.

The complete report will be made available at

https://academedia.se/en/investors/reports-and-presentations/

Comments from CEO Marcus Strömberg

The third quarter of the financial year is the first quarter fully affected by the new economic conditions, with sharply increased inflation. Thanks to AcadeMedia's solid preparations and investments in quality and attractiveness, the business continues to show stable progress both in terms of growth and financial performance. The number of children and students increased by 6.4 percent and net sales by 10.3 percent. Strong growth in the international preschool segment during the quarter is particularly pleasing, the number of children increasing by 14.9 percent and net sales by 22.9 percent.

The Swedish municipalities adjusted school voucher, about 5 percent, is a good starting point. At the same time, we believe that investments need to continue, not least in view of the new economic conditions. Education, from preschool to adult education, must always be a priority, even more so in difficult times. Good cooperation between all stakeholders, whether independent or municipal, is an essential prerequisite for prioritising correctly for the society as a whole. We believe that great potential lies in better collaboration on, for example, educational initiatives, student health, admission systems and premises. For example, we would like to build joint campuses with municipalities, as we have previously done in Nacka. AcadeMedia is well equipped to face the new economic environment.

Major investment in Swedish schools

In recent years, AcadeMedia has made major investments in Swedish schools. Our focus has been on vocational programmes and the establishment of our campus strategy. The campus strategy is a way of allowing students from different schools, often with completely different specialisations, to meet under the same roof. For example, various facilities are shared, such as a large high-quality school canteen and a big library.

We can now see that these investments are paying off. Schools based on our campuses all report rising application rates. The latter also applies to our practical vocational programmes, which are strongly growing. Preliminary applications for Praktiska Gymnasiet are up by more than 10 percent.

Roadmap 2030 makes us even better

For many years, AcadeMedia has managed its operation in a way that has created a long-term sustainable company with a focus on the best possible use of resources. This creates stability when conditions in society are changing. These resources also enable us to implement a number of initiatives over the next few years to further improve quality. These include:

• Focus on leadership and skills development for teachers

• A programme to further improve equality in grading practices

• Strengthen schools with students who need school the most

Adult education stabilised

Operating profit in adult education has stabilised. Higher vocational education is showing good and stable development and our cost management measures in municipal adult education have had an impact. However, we do not anticipate volumes in municipal adult education to increase, as unemployment is still low. Unemployment is expected to increase over the reminder of the year to 7.9 percent and to 8.3 percent next year. This will lead to continued investment in vocational training programmes in particular.

International preschool

The Norwegian preschool sector has for several years faced challenges from increased costs and changes to the reimbursement system. School voucher funding in Norway increased in January 2023 by about 9 percent, which together with our own measures means that we are now better reimbursed for our costs. The increase is reflecting the fact that school voucher funding in Norway is based on the municipality's actual costs two years earlier, in this case 2021. At that time, the municipalities had to cope with high pandemic-related costs. Norway has a significantly higher proportion of private preschools than the other countries in which AcadeMedia operates; in Norway 50 percent of all preschools are private.

In Germany, the preschool sector is still in development, with official statistics indicating a shortage of around 400,000 preschool places. However, the reimbursement system is not designed for a high-inflation environment, and we estimate that it will take up to a year before preschool operators are fully reimbursed for increased costs. The private sector is substantial and important to German society, so operators will be compensated, albeit with a time lag. AcadeMedia's growth in Germany continues as planned, and next year we will open 15 new units.

Our employees find their workplace convivial and recommend us as employers

Our annual employee survey was conducted in January 2023 and nearly 10,000 employees in Sweden completed the questionnaire. A personnel-intensive business like ours is entirely dependent on employees being happy and recommending others to work at AcadeMedia. It is pleasing to note that more than 8 out of 10 employees say they would recommend their workplace to others, and that 86 percent feel proud to work at their preschool, school, or adult education unit.

For many years AcadeMedia has invested considerable resources in leadership development; good school management creates a good school. Here, too, the figures are high, 8 out of 10 employees feel that their manager motivates them and helps them to prioritise when necessary.

Key school organisations celebrate 30 years in operation

This year, two of our operations celebrate 30 years. LBS Kreativa gymnasiet has contributed to Swedish education in gaming. Many students have been trained over the years and are now working in a growing industry that is important to Sweden. The other 30-year-old, Rytmus, also trains people in an industry that is important to Sweden – music. Many students from Rytmus have contributed to the Swedish music scene, which is fantastic and something we are very proud of.

Finally, I would like to thank all of our 20,000 employees and all our 100,000 students for choosing to join us on our development journey.

Marcus Strömberg
President and CEO 
AcadeMedia AB (publ) 

Presentation of the report

A web-cast telephone conference will be held at 09:30 CEST today, where CEO Marcus Strömberg and CFO Katarina Wilson will present the report.

To participate in the conference call please register via this link:

https://conference.financialhearings.com/teleconference/?id=5004048

After registration, you will be provided with telephone numbers and a conference ID to access the conference. You can ask questions verbally via the telephone conference.

To follow the presentation webcast on the following page: https://tv.streamfabriken.com/academedia-q3-2023

The presentation material will be available before the conference begins on AcadeMedia web via:
https://academedia.se/en/investors/reports-and-presentations/

It will also be possible to access the recorded version of the webcast after it is finished on this page.

For more information, please contact:

Marcus Strömberg, CEO
Telephone: +46 8 794 4200
E-mail: [email protected]

Katarina Wilson, CFO
Telephone: +46-8 794 42 91
E-mail: [email protected]

About AcadeMedia

AcadeMedia creates opportunities for people to develop. The 18,800 employees at our 700 preschools, compulsory schools, upper secondary schools and adult education centres share a common focus on quality and development. Our 192,500 children and students are provided with a high-quality education, giving them the best conditions to attain both learning objectives and their full potential as individuals. AcadeMedia is Northern Europe ́s largest education company, with locations/facilities/presence in Sweden, Norway, Germany, and Netherlands. Our size gives us the capacity to be a robust, long-term partner to the communities we serve. More information about AcadeMedia is available on www.academedia.se.

This information is information that AcadeMedia AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 08:00 CEST 5 May 2023.