Increasing by almost a quarter from the previous financial year, IDP registered A$487.2m in revenue for FY18, its third consecutive growth year since listing on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2015.

“Hotcourses Group has also continued to deliver very strong revenue growth”

“These results reflect another impressive year for IDP as we delivered high-quality services for international students and the broader higher education and English language sectors,” said IDP CEO and managing director Andrew Barkla.

Driving growth was a 22% increase in revenue from IELTS, which is co-owned by IDP in Australia, as well as “ongoing growth in the international education industry,” which helped push recruitment services, according to the company’s ASX announcement.

Of its company-wide A$93m revenue increase, English testing services represented more than half, or A$56.1m, while recruitment services increased A$19.2m. Combined, English testing and student recruitment made up 88% of total revenue.

“The increase in the number of tests taken last year reflects the growing role of English as a key global language,” Barkla said.

“Notably, this year we launched computer-delivered testing with our IELTS partners. We’re looking forward to further innovating our leading test as we move into FY19.”

In addition to the introduction of computer-based English testing, FY18 also saw Hotcourses Group integrated into IDP’s wider business for the first time after its purchase in early 2017, and the start of a companywide digital transformation.

Notably, Hotcourses helped double revenue from digital marketing and events, and Barkla told The PIE News the results of the acquisition “exceeded our expectations”.

“The increases in tests taken reflects the growing role of English”

“We have leveraged the Hotcourses Group team’s digital capabilities to accelerate the roll-out of our global platform in line with feedback from our customers,” he said.

“Importantly, Hotcourses Group has also continued to deliver very strong revenue growth, which highlights the quality of their underlying business.”

Since its interim financial report in February, IDP’s share price has been on a bullish run, rocketing from $5.68 a share to a high of $10.98, and its board declared a final year dividend of 6.5 cents per share, expected to be 60% franked.