STI Education Systems Holdings Inc. (STI) said over the weekend it plans to continue building campuses to take advantage of its growth.
STI chairman Eusebio Tanco said its education business is poised to expand its school network, having achieved economies of scale and making the business profitable.
“The last few years we hit the economies of scale, meaning any growth in the topline will go directly to the bottomline. I think two or three years ago, we hit that sweet spot,” Tanco said.
STI reported a profit of P912.2 million IN the first half of its fiscal year ended December 2024, a 76.17-percent increase from P517.8 million reported in the same period last year.
The company’s revenues grew 34 percent, reaching P2.63 billion, from P2 billion in the previous year.
Tanco said the company’s success came from its business model, which required significant investment.
“That sweet spot is because of the model. We spent a lot on the model. I think the challenge on STI right now is capacity. We just have to build more capacity. Build more schools,” he said.
He also noted that STI is open to acquisition opportunities.
STI acquired Philippine School of Business Administration (PSBA), including licenses, trademarks and trade names in 2024.
The company revealed it would spend P950 million this month to build a new STI ESG campus in Alabang, set to open next year.
STI saw a 15-percent increase in student enrollment for the school year 2024-2025, reaching 138,060 students, compared to 119,543 in the previous school year. Jenniffer B. Austria
New enrollments for the current school year totaled 55,052, almost matching the number of new students enrolled in 2023-2024.
The number of students enrolled in programs regulated by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) grew 20 percent, with more than 100,000 students enrolled, compared to over 83,000 in 2023-2024.
STI is operating 63 schools to date, of which 37 are company-owned and 26 franchised schools.