Lumi Gruppen AS — Earnings Release 2021

May 11, 2021

Sonans Holding: First quarter 2021 results

Sonans Holding: First quarter 2021 results

• Q1’21 revenue up by 7% to NOK 133.3 million and record number of students enrolled in the spring semester

o High growth at Bjørknes following strong autumn 2020 student intake

o Covid-19 measures triggered extraordinary shift to online at Sonans Utdanning

• Adj. EBIT increased by 9% in Q1’21 compared to last year, driven by profitable growth at Bjørknes

• Student intake for autumn semester 2021 significantly up year-over-year

o Still early in the student intake cycle

• Growth initiatives on track

o New bachelor programmes

o Norwegian School of Technology

o Continue improvement of online offering

• Successful listing on Euronext Growth and refinancing

o Well-funded to execute growth plan and realise long-term ambitions

First quarter 2021 was an eventful quarter for Sonans Holding where several important milestones were reached, ensuring a continuous positive development for the Company. The underlying performance was strong in the quarter driven by both solid operations and positive market fundamentals. In addition, Sonans Holding was successfully listed on Euronext Growth Oslo, securing financial resources to reach the Company’s ambitious financial goals.

“The first quarter 2021 was a solid quarter for Sonans Holding where we cemented our position as the leading private education provider in Norway. Student satisfaction continued to improve to a record high, and it is inspiring for us to help young people reach their goals. We are on track in expanding our study programmes and will launch three new bachelor programmes and one Master programme in the second half of 2021” says Erik Brandt, CEO of Sonans Holding and adding “Underlying operations continued to improve and Sonans Holding was successfully listed on Euronext Growth Oslo during the first quarter, securing financial resources to reach our long-term ambitions.”

Strong market for private education

The market for private education continued to be strong in the first quarter with solid growth in student numbers for both Sonans Utdanning and Bjørknes Høyskole.

The number of students that signed up for Sonans Utdanning’s courses in the spring semester of 2021 showed 10 per cent growth compared to last year. Of the students that signed up, the growth in the spring semester was driven by online while campus remained fairly flat. The Company believes that the significant shift towards online is in part an effect from the imposed Covid-19 restrictions implemented at the start of 2021, especially in the Greater Oslo region.

Bjørknes Høyskole experienced accelerating growth in the number of active students. For the spring semester of 2021 the school experienced a growth of 28 per cent compared to last year.

High student satisfaction

Student satisfaction is one of the most important key performance indicators for the Group and Sonans Holding devotes considerable resources to provide an optimal learning environment for the students. These efforts have proven to be successful and both Sonans Utdanning and Bjørknes Høyskole have received positive feedback from the students.

In the latest student satisfaction survey Bjørknes Høyskole was ranked number 3 in Norway, which is an improvement from last year when Bjørknes Høyskole was ranked number 5.

Sonans Utdanning has received a rating of 4.5 out of 5 by the students when evaluating the teachers. In addition, students improve their grades significantly and approximately 85 per cent of Sonans’ students qualify for higher education programmes after finishing at Sonans.

Financial results

Total revenues increased by 7 per cent to NOK 133.3 million in Q1 2021, compared to NOK 124.9 million in Q1 2020 (not including Sonans Karriere AS which was divested in June 2020). Revenue was positively impacted by a significant increase in the number of students at Bjørknes Høyskole. Due to stricter infection control measures imposed in January, schools were temporarily closed in the Greater Oslo Area and led to a shift to online studies, which affected revenues at Sonans Utdanning negatively.

Total operating expenses increased by 6 per cent to NOK 91.1 million in Q1 2021, compared to NOK 85.6 million in Q1 2020. Personnel cost is the largest category, totalling NOK 61.8 million in Q1 2021. Total personnel costs for Sonans Holding consolidated increased by 3.8 per cent from the same period last year.

Adjusted EBIT ended at NOK 29.6 million, an increase of 9.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Growth initiatives on track

Bjørknes Høyskole has received accreditation from the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) for two new bachelor programmes which will commence in August this year. In addition, Bjørknes Høyskole is awaiting an accreditation for another two bachelor programmes which are also scheduled to start this autumn. Bjørknes Høyskole will also expand its student offerings through the introduction of a new Master programme. Bjørknes Høyskole’s subject focus is on social sciences, psychology, healthcare (medicine, physiotherapy, and nutrition), and business and administration from 2021.

Through the ramp up of the new programmes, the total number of degrees at Bjørknes Høyskole will double from 5 to 10 and ensure a solid platform for growth and create a transparent stream of revenue growth in the years to come.

Through these initiatives, Sonans Holding has established a clear roadmap to reach the Company’s revenue target. Sonans Utdanning has an ambition to increase revenue by 5-10 per cent annually. For 2021 however, Sonans Utdanning is aiming for revenue growth of 5 per cent since a higher share of online revenues will create an accrual effect in 2021.

First quarter report and presentation material

Please see attached the first quarter report and Q1 Presentation for further information. The quarterly report, presentation materials with key figures will also be available on the company's website at https://sonansgruppen.no/for-investors/

Presentation and webcast

CEO Erik Brandt and CFO Henrik Knudtzon will present the company's results at 09:00 via Teams. Due to the Covid-19 situation, the presentation will be held without physical participants. The presentation will be held in English and transferred via live webcast.

The link to the webcast will be available on the company’s website: https://sonansgruppen.no/for-investors/

It will be possible to ask questions via the web.

Contact information

Henrik Knudtzon

CFO and Head of Investor Relations

E-mail: IR@sonans.no

Mobile: +47 930 22 827

About Sonans Holding

Sonans Holding is a leading Norwegian education provider founded in 1989. Today, Sonans Holding consists of two main divisions; Sonans Utdanning and Bjørknes Høyskole. Sonans Utdanning is the market leader in Norway within private candidate exam preparation courses, and Bjørknes Høyskole offers high quality bachelor’s degrees within health, social sciences, psychology and business and administration, both on campus and online. For more info, go to: www.sonansgruppen.no