The educational institution is seeking to further grow its presence in the Philippines and in the region.
Speaking at the annual press briefing in Makati City on Tuesday, August 13, PHINMA Education shared its plans for the future of the company in the next five years.
According to its President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Chito Salazar, they intend to grow their current network to up to 20 schools within the next 5 years.
“Because there are so many students to serve, our goal is ultimately to be in more countries over the next few years and to really become the expert in educating the low income student,” Salazar said.
BIGGER AMBITION
Also part of the “bigger ambition” of the education provider is to reach 1 million students across its portfolio over the course of the next 12 to 15 years.
At present, the entire PHINMA Education group has little under 150,000 enrollees in its 11 campuses spread across the Philippines and Indonesia.
Once the expansion plans materialize, they will soon have presence in Cavite and Bicol in Luzon, and in Davao and General Santos in Mindanao.
Outside the country, PHINMA is also looking to build their footprint in Indonesia, and eventually, in neighboring Southeast Asian nations of Vietnam and Cambodia.
These developments come at the back of the global investment firm KKR’s acquisition of shares in the holding firm PHINMA Education Holdings, Inc. (PEHI), which amount to Php 4.5 billion, in a deal that is expected to be closed before the end of 2024.
The funding that will be generated from that investment have been earmarked to support the growth plans of PHINMA Education.
In light of this, the holding firm will be indefinitely pushing back its planned initial public offering (IPO) for about 5 to 7 years.
POSITIVE CASHFLOW
A notable feat for the firm is that 70% of its student population receive scholarships, which take into account discounts given to the learners.
Even more impressive for PHINMA Education is that it was able to see a positive cashflow during the recent academic year.
Chief Financial Officer Daisy Montinola reported that the total revenues of the group increased 26-pct in SY 2023-24 versus the 2022-23 academic year, amounting to Php 5.69 billion.
That same period, its net income soared 31% to Php 1.42 billion, with the operating income nearly doubling at 43% to Php 1.58 billion.
Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) had a 37% increase versus the preceeding year, rising to Php 2.10 billion in SY 2023-24.
POPULAR DEGREES
President and CEO Chito Salazar, during the town hall portion with the press, noted that criminology is the most-popular degree program in its Philippine campuses.
Salazar said that aside from being due to competitive salary, this might also be attributed to their network being in provinces, whereby some students hailing from far-flung areas have viewed professions as either being teachers or policemen during their younger years.
Despite this, PHINMA Education does not position itself as a competitor to police academies, such as that of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).
Between June 2023 and May 2024, PHINMA schools produced 3 topnotchers in the criminology board examinations alone.
Zooming out of that specific degree program, the schools have produced 31 board exam topnotchers and saw 84% of their students pass the boards on their first time.
PHINMA Education owns and operates the following schools in Luzon: PHINMA Araullo University in Nueva Ecija, the University of Pangasinan, UPang College Urdaneta, Rizal College of Laguna, Union College of Laguna, and St. Jude College in Quezon City and Manila.
The Visayas and Mindanao network comprises of the University of Iloilo, Southwestern University in Cebu, and the Cagayan de Oro University.
Meanwhile, in Indonesia where it owns the Horizon University – Karawang. PHINMA sees the nursing degree that it offers as lucrative among their students in that country.