South Africa is getting 2 new private university campuses – in Cape Town and Centurion

JSE-listed private tertiary education specialist, Stadio Holdings, has published its financial results for the financial year ending 31 December.

With student numbers increasing by 7% from 29,885 to 31,869 during the year, turnover grew by 29% from R633 million to R815 million, the group said.

EBITDA followed with a 40% increase from R129 million to R180 million, and core headline earnings by 26% from R70 million to R88 million. Core headline earnings per share increased by 26% from 8.6 cents to 10.8 cents.

Announcing the results, Stadio chief executive Dr Chris van der Merwe said the company yet again exceeded profit targets as set out in the pre-listing statement when the company listed in October 2017.

“This was accomplished in the midst of a tight economy and a country facing a recession. We are truly thankful for the progress we made and indeed according to our business plan’s targets and assumptions.

“Furthermore, we are creating opportunities for qualifying and passionate students, who in many cases do not get the opportunity of admission to our public universities,” Dr Van der Merwe said.

Stadio offers 93 accredited qualifications which ranges from NQF 5 to NQF 10 level at its various educational brands, with 45 more programmes in the pipeline of development and accreditation.

A total of 7,294 students graduated at the end of 2019 with a module success rate of 81%.

New campuses and multiversity

Van der Merwe said that the group is also pushing forward with its plans to build a ‘multiversity’ as well as the construction of new campuses.

“We are working side by side with the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and the Department of Higher Education & Training (DHET) to create ‘one STADIO’ with several faculties. With hard work and focus, we continue to make good progress and should succeed in becoming one entity in 2020,” he said.

“What excites me the most is our two multi-faculty campuses which are both currently under construction.”

Van Der Merwe said that Stadio Centurion will open its doors in January 2021, while the group plans to open Stadio Durbanville, situated outside Cape Town, in 2022.

“Our country is in dire need of these campuses. With more than 400,000 grade 12 learners qualifying year-on-year from schools, our public universities can only accommodate 192,000 of these learners. By scaling the Stadio concept, we can truly supplement the state’s offerings to students in many ways.

“We see Stadio as one typical example of how the private and the state sector can work together. Our next aim is to head for 40,000 students and we firmly believe that the market is big enough for Stadio to be of service to 100,000 students over time,” Dr Van der Merwe said.

He said the company will continue to establish and migrate various programmes to a ‘one STADIO’, which will reap efficiencies in the long-term, but could result in additional costs in the short-to-medium term.

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