STI Holdings’ nine-month net income jumped 95% to P579m on higher student enrolment

By Jennifer Austria

STI Holdings Inc., the owner and operator of one of the biggest networks of private schools in the Philippines, said Friday nine-month net income ended March 2023 jumped by 95 percent to P579.3 million brought about by the rise in enrollments.

STI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange nine-month gross revenues reached P2.4 billion, which was 27 percent higher than P1.9-billion revenues recorded in the same period last year on higher the number of enrollees and improvement in the enrollment mix of the for the school year 2022-2023.

STI fiscal year starts on July 1 of every year and ends on June 30 of the following year.

Tuition and other school fees, which reached P2.1 billion in the nine-month period, increased by 25 percent compared to the same period last year.

The number of new students enrolled in Commission on Higher Education programs improved by 17 percent to 25,849 for the current school year versus the previous school year of 22,142.

STI schools now have a total of 94,312 enrollees for school year 20222023, which is 14 percent higher than the 82,629 students population registered in the previous school year.

“STI Education Services Group’s wholly-owned and franchised schools registered an enrollment of 81,697 students, 8,947 or 12 percent more than the enrollment in SY 2021-2022. Percentage-wise, earlier said they could not comply with the volume of production required by the program after the pandemic upended their long-term growth plans.

The PSAC also introduced a new recommendation which further supports MSME development. The Motorcycle Micro Business Program aims to create over two million jobs for “habal-habal” riders and provide access to transform their livelihoods, becoming platform for self-entrepreneurs.

The council is seeking for a nationwide expansion of the law through an executive order for the Motorcycle Micro Business Program. The Department of Transportation is reviewing the EO.

By Julito G. Rada

THE Bank of the Philippine Islands said Friday it will be “too premature” for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to cut interest rates this year as the economy remains strong.

BPI said in a report inflation slowed down recently, allowing the BSP to pause its hiking cycle. It said inflation remained elevated with upside risks still posing a threat. The BSP kept the policy rate steady at 6.25 percent.

“Food supply remains vulnerable to shocks given the current productivity of the agriculture sector vis-à-vis the country’s population growth. The projected El Nino in the second half of 2023 may exacerbate this supply problem further,” it said.

Another upside risk to inflation, it said, is the strong demand in the economy amid its recovery. Establishments like restaurants and those engaged in services have a compelling reason to adjust their prices higher because of strong demand, and they need to compensate for previous months of high inflation.

“Considering these risks, it might be too premature to expect rate cuts later this year. Interest rates may need to stay elevated to bring demand closer to a level that matches supply. Core inflation remaining sticky near 8 percent suggests that the gap between demand and supply remains wide,” the bank said.

“Aside from this, it seems the economy doesn’t need additional stimulus at this time given the recent GDP data. Economic growth remains healthy at around 6 percent despite high inflation and the increase in interest rates,” it said.

The gross domestic product grew by 6.4 percent in the first quarter.

BPI said bringing inflation back to the target range of the BSP is a growth stimulus in itself, making the stimulus provided by rate cuts unnecessary at this point.

STI West Negros University registered the highest increase at 35 percent for this SY compared to last SY,” STI said.

STI said its school network also reported an increase in revenues from other sources, such as educational services and royalty fees, on higher enrollments and more frequent face-to-face classes.

It said in the three-month ended March 2023, it recorded a net income of P355.9 million, up 48 percent year-onyear as gross revenues climbed 24 percent to P982 million.

SYNERGY Grid and Development Philippines Inc. said Friday the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines complied with its obligations under its franchise.

NGCP, the operator of the country’s transmission network, is SGP’s sole operating asset.

“NGCP believes and is confident that it has complied with its obligations under its franchise and the concession agreement and it shall continue to comply with all lawful directives and pursue its mandate faithfully,” SGP said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

SGP said NGCP relies on its overall good performance and service track record to defend against allegations of violations.

NGCP holds a 25-year concession and a 50-year Congressional franchise to expand and operate the country’s power transmission grid.

NGCP is the sole and exclusive operator of the Philippines’ nationwide transmission network linking power generators and distribution utilities to deliver electricity to end-users across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

“NGCP has been investing hundreds of billions to strengthen the transmission system. Since taking over in 2009, transmission rates have gone down,” SGP said.

“Based on the ERC’s findings on performance metrics, transmission services have significantly improved. NGCP has doubled substation capacity and constructed substantial transmission lines all over the country including inter-island connection projects,” the company said.

Alena Mae S. Flores