After going public in November last year, international student placement company, IDP Education, has released its first year results for the 12 months to June 30 that reveal 32% growth in net-profit to A$40m.
The company’s performance outshines 2015’s predicted results significantly, with profits growing 12% more than the prospectus released for the company’s IPO.
Total revenue was up 17% to $362m with growth driven by 7% increase in average fees and 4% increase in volume of IELTS testing which it co-owns.
“The growth and diversification benefits of the multi-destination strategy are clearly evident in the result”
IDP Education has over 400 IELTS testing centres in over 50 different locations. Total revenue for its English testing branch was up 11% to $237m.
Within the English language testing operations, Southeast Asia “performed strongly” Andrew Barkla, chief executive officer and managing director of IDP Education, told The PIE News .
India in particular benefited “from surging demand for study and migration in key English speaking countries” the company’s statement says.
Student placements, its second biggest earner, saw revenues jump 33% with revenue from Australian placements up 17% to $65m and multi-destination placements which include the US, UK, and Canada, up a whopping 102% to $27m.
Despite representing a smaller share of earnings, the multi-destination strategy to recruit students to countries outside of Australia adopted in 2010 is proving advantageous.
“The growth and diversification benefits of the multi-destination strategy are clearly evident in the result,” said Barkla. “Placement volumes to the UK, USA, Canada and New Zealand [are] up 72% relative to the previous financial year.”
In November of last year, when careers website Seek sold its half of the company, IDP Education was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and began trading after raising A$331.6m in its initial public offering.
The other 50% of the company is still owned by 38 Australian universities.
English language teaching operations also saw strong revenue growth, increasing 25%, driven by a 10% increase in course fees in addition to student volumes being up by 14%.
Barkla said his outlook is positive for the upcoming year.
“IDP Education’s multi-destination strategy and its global IELTS footprint provide a diversified exposure to the key long-term macro trends we are observing,” he said, listing global growth in the international education industry, the central role of English as a key global language, and “generally supportive government policies in our key destination markets” as contributors.
He added that the company plans to focus on digital operations, integrating its face-to-face services with its online channels.
“Our vision is to build a global platform with an online community to help guide international students along their journey and help them achieve their lifelong learning and career aspirations.”
