DURBAN - STADIO Holdings share price surged by more than 9 percent on the JSE yesterday morning after the investment company in private higher education said it expected its full-year earnings to increase as much as 41 percent for the year to end December.
Its share price later closed the day at R2.27.
The group expected its core headline earnings per share to be between 13.1 cents a share and 15.3c, an increase of between 21 percent and 41 percent compared to 10.8c reported last year.
Stadio said it utilised core headline earnings to measure and benchmark the underlying performance of the business.
“Core headline earnings represents headline earnings adjusted for certain non-recurring or non-cash items that, in the board’s view, may distort the financial results from year to year,” the group said.
However, the group warned its shareholders that it expects to report a loss a share of between 13.8c and 15.5c and a headline loss of between 7.7c and 9.4c, impacted by abnormal, once-off accounting adjustments during the period.
The group recorded a total abnormal accounting fair value adjustment of R207 million for the year following the outperformance of enrolments for both first and second semester enrolments on the Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting (PGDA) and the PGDA bridging programme and the group said the fair value adjustment had a negative impact on earnings and headline earnings per share.
The abnormal accounting fair value adjustment for the six months to end June was R74m.
Stadio also recognised impairments of intangible assets to the value of R51m and the group said this was predominantly related to the impairment of trademarks of R40m following the successful business transfer of the underlying businesses of Lisof, Prestige Academy and Southern Business School into Stadio (formerly Embury Institute for Higher Education).
The group expects to release results on March 15.
BUSINESS REPORT