The IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) share price has been one of the best performers on the market in 2019.
Since the start of the year the international student placement services company's shares have doubled in value thanks to a stellar first half and expectations for a strong full year result.
Did IDP Education deliver on expectations?
This morning IDP Education released its results for the 12 months ended June 30 and revealed total revenue of $598 million and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $115 million. This represented an increase of 23% and 29%, respectively, on the prior corresponding period.
Net profit after tax came in 29% higher year on year at $66.3 million. This is a touch slower than its 34% growth rate achieved in the first half.
The key drivers of its growth were the English Language Testing and Student Placement segments, which delivered record results again.
The English Language Testing segment posted a 17% increase in revenue to $359.6 million, whereas the Student Placement segment grew revenue by 39% to $170.3 million. The latter was driven by a 25% increase in volumes and the expansion of its network into Nepal, Pakistan, Canada, and particularly India.
Supporting this growth was the English Language Teaching segment which delivered a 24% increase in revenue to $27.5 million and the Digital Marketing and Events segment which posted a 15% lift in revenue to $36.8 million.
The company's chief executive officer and managing director, Andrew Barkla, believes the positive performance reflected its focus on customers and the delivery of its vision.
He said: "IDP's solid growth continued this year as we delivered quality services for students, education institutions and English language test takers around the world. FY19 saw us progress to the next phase in realising our vision to build a global platform and connected community to guide customers along their journey to achieve their lifelong goals."
Outlook.
No guidance was provided with the release, other than Mr Barkla advising that the company's focus remains on growing the capabilities of its people and improving the IELTS customer experience. Given its premium valuation, I suspect that there's a chance that this may not go down well with the market.
But if there is a sell off similar to those experienced by A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) and Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) on Wednesday, I think it could be worth taking advantage of the share price weakness to buy shares with a long term view.
