Private ‘universities’ booming in South Africa

Private tertiary education provider STADIO has reported another strong set of interim results, boosted by significant growth in learners.

Private school network Curro created STADIO from the combination of Southern Business School, Embury Institute for Higher Education, LISOF, and Prestige Academy.

As Curro continued to grow, it snapped up higher education institutions to create STADIO. 

In 2017, Curro unbundled its interest in STADIO and listed the company on the JSE in October 2017 to create a separate business focused on higher education.

Now, STADIO is listed on the JSE with a market cap of R8.24 billion and, in its latest interim results, reported having 54,487 students enrolled.

STADIO released its results for the six months through June 2025 on Thursday, 28 August, which revealed a strong performance for the group.

Its revenue grew by 16% to R956.81 million, while profit for the period shot up 27% to R182.92 million.

The company’s earnings per share and headline earnings per share rose by 28% to 20.8 cents and 20.7 cents per share, respectively.

STADIO said this growth was driven by a 9% increase in student numbers, with a 14% boost in new students.

The education provider offers two modes of learning delivery, contact learning and distance learning.

In this six-month period, the number of students who receive contact learning grew by 11% to 7,018, while distance learning students rose by 9% to 44,179 compared to the first half of 2024.

This equates to five-year compound annual growth rates of 2% and 12%, respectively.

As of August 2025, the group had 54,487 students enrolled, with second-semester enrolments still in progress.

The company’s strong financial performance was also boosted by operational efficiencies, which saw STADIO’s EBITDA increase by 24%, with core headline earnings up by 28% year-on-year.

The private education provider also ended the six-month period with a strong cash balance of R215 million, up from R98 million in the first half of 2024.

Over the six-month period, STADIO invested a total of R120 million in capital expenditure, with R71 million related to the new STADIO Durbanville campus and R13 million in new curriculum and software development.

The company said its construction of the initial phase of the Durbanville campus is progressing as expected and remains on track for opening before the 2026 academic year commences. 

During the period, STADIO’s board approved an additional R105 million for this project, increasing the total cost to R325 million to include an additional phase that was originally planned much later.

The company expects to spend around R142 million in the second half of the year for the construction and fit-out of the campus.

 The remaining R85 million of the total R325 million is expected to be incurred in 2026.

STADIO’s board elected not to declare an interim dividend for the six months through June 2025.