Advtech has subsequently declared a final gross dividend of 73.0 cents per ordinary share bringing the full year dividend for 2025 to 118 cents.
Image: Supplied
Tawanda Karombo
Geoff Whyte, CEO of private tertiary education group Advtech, said on Monday that improved debtor control and stronger margins helped the company to a R2 billion operating profit for the year to December 2025.
Advtech raised revenues for the period by 10% to R9.3bn with operating profits also shooting up by 14% to R2bn. Operating margins for the period climbed up to 21.8%.
“Healthy enrolment growth, moderate fee increases, improved debtor control and increased margins contributed to Advtech delivering over R2bn in operating profit for the first time,” said Whyte.
After the company’s education division boosted earnings, normalised earnings in Advtech strengthened by 17% to 236.1 cents.
Operating margins in the education division improved to 24.7% as the company leveraged on its scale and continued to focus on efficiencies, helping to offset additional costs incurred to strengthen the group’s brands through the introduction of additional global benchmarking measures, artificial intelligence tools to support personalised learning and enhanced student information systems.
Furthermore, a continued focus on collection processes saw gross trade receivables increase by only 5% compared to a revenue increase of 10% while loss allowances decreased to R415 million.
Credit losses for the period decreased from R195m in 2024 to R159m in the period under review, attributable to improved debtors book performance, the company said.
Cash generated from operating activities increased by 20% to R2.7bn while capital expenditure of R1bn was focused mainly on increasing capacity at existing sites to meet incremental demand, as well as the completion of new Emeris / Vega mega-campuses in Sandton and Nelson Mandela Bay.
“Simplification of our brand structures alongside significant investment in people, systems and infrastructure continue to strengthen our position as the leading provider of private education on the African continent,” added Whyte.
Advtech has subsequently declared a final gross dividend of 73.0 cents per ordinary share bringing the full year dividend for 2025 to 118 cents.
The company’s schools in South Africa had robust enrolment growth which drove revenues to R3.4bn. The company’s 2025 matric students achieved a 99.7% pass rate, with a 94.0% bachelor’s degree pass rate/
In the rest of Africa segment, Advtech’s schools raised revenue by 28% to R574m, driven by strong enrolment growth, the full year inclusion of Flipper International Schools and a part year contribution from the Regis Runda acquisition. Operating profit for the segment increased by 33% to R194m.
Advtech acquired the Regis Runda school in Nairobi, Kenya for R171m in August last year. The group also concluded a new long-term lease on the Makini Statehouse campus, in Nairobi as it commences a R39m expansion project that will double capacity to 575 students.
“Advtech is uniquely positioned to enrich people’s lives through being the leader in teaching and learning across the African continent,” said Whyte.
“Our sound balance sheet, strong cash generation, growing scale and expertise in Africa and unrelenting focus on extending competitive advantage position us well to maintain our growth trajectory and invest with confidence in areas of opportunity.”
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