Voucher increases for Academedia amount to 2.5% in Sweden

Voucher notifications have been recieved for almost 80 percent of the student base which gives a stable average for the Swedish operations. Average voucher increases for 2019 are for AcadeMedia’s Swedish operations estimated to 2.5 (2.5) percent and 3.4 (2.2) percent for the Norwegian preschools. The increases are in line with the figures provided in AcadeMedia's latest quarterly report.

Voucher increases have been calculated based on voucher notifications received and have been weighted with AcadeMedia’s student mix in each segment.

As communicated in the most recent interim report salary increases have slowed down somewhat. However, there is still a shortage of teachers and employee turnover remains high which drives salary increases beyond the annual salary revision. The voucher increases for preschools continue to be a challenge and it will be difficult to compensate increases in staff costs as this consititutes a large share of total expenses.

AcadeMedia has appealed voucher notifications to some ten municipalities.

Voucher increase by segment

The voucher increase in the Pre- and Compulsory School Segment amounts to 2.0 (2.7) percent for preschools and 3.5 (2.3) percent for compulsory schools. The average voucher increase has been calculated based on voucher notifications for 93 percent of the children and is weighted by child and municipality mix. The calculation for compulsory schools only reflects the compulsory school voucher and does not take into account changes in the voucher related to before- and after school care, nor does it consider potential allocation shifts between school voucher and socio-economic compensation. AcadeMedia estimates that when the effects of other compensation components are included the average revenue increase per student will be lower than 3.5 percent. In addition to voucher payments the Pre- and Compulsory School Segment has around 3 percent of revenues from parental fees according to the maximum fee regulation. The maximum parental fee is adjusted annually by the National Agency for Education. For 2019, the increase was 3.1 percent (1.5).

The voucher increase for the Upper Secondary School Segment amounts to 2.0 (2.4) percent on average. Voucher increases have been calculated based on received voucher notifications for 65 percent of the students and are weighted with AcadeMedia’s student and program mix. Last years numbers do not include Vindora.

As previously communicated, the municipal contributions for the Norwegian preschools have increased on average by 3.4 (2.2) percent weighted by child and municipality mix. There is a maximum parental fee system also in Norway. The parental fees amount to about 16 percent of revenue and are adjusted annually with an index that for 2019 has been set to 3.5 percent (6.6).

What is school vouchers?

Revenues in AcadeMedia’s three school segments consist mainly of a municipal contribution per student, this is called school voucher or voucher. Vouchers in Sweden are calculated based on the municipality's budgeted cost for its own educational activities in each school form, age group and study program. The total cost is divided by the budgeted number of children or students in the respective form of education to obtain a voucher per child/student. According to Swedish law resource allocation must be equal between students in municipality run schools and independent schools. This means that if the actual outcome in the municipal accounts show a higher cost per student, the independent schools should be compensated. Retroactive compensation is made by some municipalities on their own initiative, while others need to be monitored.

In Norway, the vouchers for 2019 are calculated based on the actual municipal cost for the financial year 2017 and adjusted with a cost index for 2018 and 2019. The index amounts to 5.8 percent for both years together. Components related to real estate cost are also adjusted to reflect each property's age, which means higher contributions for new properties and lower for older properties. The Norwegian system with vouchers based on historic outcome can affect independent providers negatively since there is a delay in compensation for general cost increases, e.g. for new staffing norm.

For more information, please contact:

Eola Änggård Runsten, CFO
Telephone: +46 8 794 4240
E-mail: eola.runsten@academedia.se

Katarina Wilson, Head of group business control
Telephone: +46 8 794 42 91
E-mail: Katarina.Wilson@academedia.se

About AcadeMedia
AcadeMedia creates opportunities for people to develop. The 17,300 employees at our 655 preschools, compulsory schools, upper secondary schools and adult education centres share a common focus on quality and development. Our 179,300 children and students are provided with a high quality education, giving them the best conditions to attain both learning objectives and their full potential as individuals. AcadeMedia is Northern Europe ́s largest education company, with locations/facilities/presence in Sweden, Norway and Germany. Our size gives us the capacity to be a robust, long term partner to the communities we serve. More information about AcadeMedia is available on www.academedia.se.