Academedia's shares – one of the year's winners on the Stockholm Stock Exchange – fell 5.5 percent in early trading after the interim report for the first quarter of the broken financial year.
Net sales during the quarter rose 6.7 percent to SEK 4.1 billion. This was significantly less than the average forecast among analysts of SEK 4.8 billion, according to a compilation of forecasts made by Bloomberg.
“Continued stable growth”
Academedia reports an operating profit of SEK 292 million for the first quarter of the company's fiscal year. This is a profit increase of 7.4 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.
"We are starting the 2025/26 financial year with stable and positive development," says CEO Marcus Strömberg in a press release.
“The autumn's preliminary admission figures show continued stable growth throughout the group,” he adds.
In connection with the report, Academedia is changing its financial targets and dividend policy.
The profitability target is changed to "an annual adjusted EBITA margin of 7-8 percent, from the previous target of an adjusted EBIT margin of 7-8 percent," Academedia writes in a press release.
In practice, this is a reduction in the profitability target. The purpose is stated to better reflect the company's acquisition policy.
“A natural step”
Regarding dividends, alternatives to cash payment are being removed from the regular dividend, according to the company.
“The update of our financial targets is a natural step, as adjusted EBITA is the most common profitability measure among acquisition-driven organizations like Academedia,” says Marcus Strömberg.
The announcement comes after Academedia decided on a redemption program that will yield 400 million kronor, which will be on top of the ordinary dividend for the financial year that ended this summer of 225 million.
The same type of extra dividend in the form of a redemption program was also made for the financial year, which ended in the summer of 2024.
Academedia's shares had risen almost 56 percent since the turn of the year before the interim report.
