AcadeMedia’s interim report, July 2023 – December 2023

 

 

Second quarter (October – December 2023)

• Net sales increased by 9.7 percent and amounted to SEK 4 433 million (4,041). Organic growth, including bolt-on acquisitions, was 8.5 percent.
• Operating profit (EBIT) amounted to SEK 305 million (266).
• Adjusted operating profit, adjusted for items affecting comparability and effects of IFRS 16, amounted to SEK 204 million (203). Items affecting comparability amounted to SEK 0 million (-21).
• Net profit for the period amounted to SEK 106 million (109).
• Earnings per share was SEK 1.01 (1.16) after dilution. Adjusted for IFRS 16, earnings per share was SEK 1.23 (1.38) after dilution.
• The average number of children and students in preschool, compulsory school, and upper secondary school during the second quarter was 101,292 (97,767), representing an increase of 3.6 percent. 

First six months (July – December 2023)

• Net sales increased by 10.0 percent to SEK 7,863 million (7,146). Organic growth, including bolt-on acquisitions, was 7.6 percent.
• Operating profit (EBIT) amounted to SEK 536 million (504).
• Operating profit, adjusted for items affecting comparability and effects of IFRS 16, amounted to SEK 355 million (354). Items affecting comparability amounted to SEK -6 million (-16).
• Net profit for the period amounted to SEK 168 million (203).
• Diluted earnings per share was SEK 1.60 (1.88). Adjusted for IFRS 16, diluted earnings per share was SEK 2.10 (2.31).
• The average number of children and students in preschool, compulsory school, and upper secondary school during the first six months was 101,022 (96,800), representing an increase of 4.4 percent. 

The complete report will be made available at

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

Comments from acting CEO Katarina Wilson

The second quarter of the financial year shows continued strong growth; net sales increased organically by 8.5 percent. Despite higher costs during the quarter, growth together with the Adult Education Segment’s successful transition, contributed to results being in line with last year. The higher costs will be compensated in the school voucher revision from January 2024.

Successful transition programme in Adult Education

It is very positive that, for the second consecutive quarter, the profitability in the Adult Education Segment has improved. Good growth in our strategically important higher vocational education business, together with a completed transition of AcadeMedia's municipal business, has had a positive effect.

Looking ahead, we can see that the Swedish government continues to invest in higher vocational education. In January 2024, the Swedish Agency for Higher Vocational Education announced that AcadeMedia had been awarded 9,500 new training places, 30 percent more than in the previous year. This is an acknowledgement of our continuing focus on quality and our business’ ability to stay close to the labour market and fulfil the need for new skills.

Quality initiatives that make a difference 

AcadeMedia's focus is at all times on developing and improving teaching and learning environments, which we report on in our annual quality report published this quarter.

In preschool, where the foundations for learning are laid, we focus in particular on language development and reading. Libraries where parents can borrow children's books are now available at most of our Swedish preschools. AcadeMedia's compulsory schools have launched a quality programme focusing on early support in reading, writing, and arithmetic, a programme that will run for several years. Early support is crucial to improve the results in Swedish schools.

AcadeMedia's focus on equal assessment and grading has borne fruit. In November, the Swedish National Agency for Education published statistics for national tests at compulsory school level. According to the report, discrepancies between national tests and grades have decreased more in AcadeMedia's compulsory schools than in Sweden as a whole. Deviations at upper secondary school level between national tests and course grades have also decreased more in AcadeMedia's upper secondary schools than in Sweden as a whole. It is very promising to see progress, and our work on equal assessment and grading will continue.

School voucher development 2024

The Swedish school voucher funding model is based on the right of all students to an equal education. This means that over time school vouchers should reflect inflation. The high inflation we have seen over the past year has led to an increased seasonal variation, where costs in the second quarter are not fully compensated until the third quarter. Also 2024 will be affected by cost increases, for example index related rent increases of 6.5 percent (10.9) in Sweden from January 2024.

Based on more than 80 percent of the school voucher decisions for 2024, the preliminary school voucher increase for Swedish preschools amounts to just over 4 percent (5.3), for compulsory schools just over 5 percent (5.2), and for upper secondary schools close to 4 percent (3.9). In Norway, school vouchers are expected to rise by 5.5 percent (9).

Open houses offer a glimpse of autumn 2024

During the pandemic, the upper secondary physical school fairs and open houses could not be held as usual. This year, we have been able to return to normal open houses and fairs. These are fantastic opportunities for interested students and guardians to meet the schools' students and staff and get a more complete picture of the schools. Choosing a school is a big and important decision, whether it's a six-year-old starting school or a teenager taking an important step towards becoming an adult by choosing a secondary school.

Interest in our open houses was high during the autumn and continues to be high at the beginning of the spring term. Many schools have seen records in the number of visitors. For example, Campus Vasastan was visited by more than 6,000 students and their guardians, which is a great recognition of the quality of our schools.

Strategy for international growth

About 25 percent of AcadeMedia's sales currently come from operations outside of Sweden. Our long-term goal is to raise this figure to 50 percent. We continuously assess acquisition opportunities as well as the possibility of growing our international business organically.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the honour of leading AcadeMedia as acting CEO, continuing to deliver on AcadeMedia's established strategy.

Katarina Wilson
Acting 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 COO Katarina Wilson will present the report.

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

https://conference.financialhearings.com/teleconference/?id=5009369
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://ir.financialhearings.com/academedia-q2-report-2024

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

About AcadeMedia
AcadeMedia creates opportunities for people to develop. The 19,400 employees at our 730 preschools, compulsory schools, upper secondary schools and adult education centres share a common focus on quality and development. Our 198,000 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 and the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 08:00 CET February 1, 2024.