[Image: STADIO]
STADIO is making big moves in private higher education, with its latest plan for a brand-new university campus in Durbanville, Cape Town.
The company threw R32 million into the project last year, and it’s set to open in 2025. Once complete, it’ll bring STADIO’s physical campuses to seven, adding to its presence in Bellville, Musgrave, Randburg, Hatfield, and Waterfall.
This expansion is all part of a bigger growth plan—STADIO is gunning for 56,000 students by 2026 and an ambitious 80,000 by 2030. And judging by its latest financials, it’s got the momentum to make it happen.
The private education giant just posted another standout year, with profits climbing 17% and headline earnings per share jumping 28%. A major factor in this growth is more students. Enrollment spiked 10% in the first semester (47,024 students) and another 8% in the second (50,039).
STADIO flexed these numbers in its annual financial report for 2024, per Daily Investor, proving that private education isn’t just thriving—it’s booming.
For those who don’t know, STADIO was spun out of Curro, which mashed together institutions like Southern Business School, Embury Institute, LISOF, and Prestige Academy to create a higher education powerhouse. Backed by PSG, Curro made a name as Africa’s biggest independent education group before unbundling STADIO and listing it on the JSE in 2017. Since then, STADIO has been snapping up schools, including AFDA, Milpark Education, and more.
2024 was another year of stacking wins—revenue climbed 14% to R1.6 billion, driven by more students and a strong push for in-person learning. And crucially, that cash didn’t just stay on paper—it flowed through to the bottom line, with after-tax profits hitting R276 million.
One of the biggest boosts was that STADIO upped its stake in Milpark Education by 15.4%, sweetening the deal even further. The company’s go-to performance metric, core headline earnings per share, climbed 28% to 31.5 cents.
That kind of growth deserves a reward, so STADIO’s board threw down a final dividend of 15.1 cents per share—up a hefty 51% from last year.
[Source: Daily Investor]
