G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) shares are on the slide during the opening minutes of trade after the company released its 2020 full-year results. At the time of writing, the G8 Education share price has slumped 4.27% to $1.12.
In its report, G8 advised it is still managing the effects of coronavirus with regard to occupancy rates at its early learning and childcare centres.
Let's review how this impacted the company's results and what the CEO had to say.
G8 Education reports annual losses
Investors are driving down the G8 Education share price today after the company reported its annual revenue dropped to $788.1 million for the year ended 31 December 2020. This was down 14.4% from the $920.6 million revenue recorded for the year prior.
Underlying earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell 11.9% compared to the prior corresponding period (pcp) and totalled $105.2 million.
G8 also reported a net profit after taxes (NPAT) loss of 11.3%. NPAT was $60 million for 2020 compared to $67.7 million in the pcp.
Earnings per share (EPS) took a 38.1% hit, falling from 13 cents for the 2019 period to 8.1 cents at the end of 2020.
The company reported a statutory loss after taxes of $187 million.
CEO comments
Commenting on the company's annual performance, G8 Education CEO and Managing Director Gary Carroll said:
This year the Group's absolute priority has been to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of our team members, children and families as we navigate the ongoing impact of COVID‐19. In addition, we have been firmly focused on safeguarding the business through prudent financial management and cash preservation and by drawing on the Commonwealth Government's welcome support for the sector during the pandemic.
These efforts have been reflected in the Group's 2020 full‐year results, which show a strong recovery in occupancy and attendance in a challenging COVID‐19 related environment. Throughout this period, the Group has not lost sight of its strategic priorities, with the optimisation of its portfolio continuing through the divestment of underperforming centres, the ongoing improvement program and the opening of greenfield sites. Our strong balance sheet, with net cash of $21.8 million, gives us the capacity to continue this momentum and to explore other sensible growth opportunities.
G8 education share price snapshot
Including today's falls, the G8 Education share price has shed nearly 30% of its value over the past year. However, G8 Education shares have gained around 20% over the last six months.
Based on the current share price, G8 Education has a market capitalisation of around $990 million with 847.4 million shares outstanding.
