Ser Educacional

General Overview

We believe we are among the largest private higher education groups operating in the on-campus (Hybrid Teaching) and distance learning ("DL" or "Digital Learning") modalities in Brazil, in terms of number of units, operating in the education area since 1993 concentrated mainly in the country’s Northeast, North and Southeast regions. On December 31, 2021, our platform was comprised of 62 units, distributed in all Brazilian states. We believe that our performance is comprehensive and diversified, counting, as of March 31, 2022, on 336,200 students enrolled, of which 138,400 are enrolled in undergraduate courses in Hybrid Teaching, 162,000 in undergraduate courses in Digital Learning, 33,400 enrolled in postgraduate courses, on-campus and digital learning, and 2,400 enrolled in vocational courses.

As of December 31, 2021, the total student base counting on 223,600 students, an increase of 16.9% compared to the 191,200 students in 2020. This growth was mainly due to the organic growth of the student base of Digital Learning, which went from 53,800 students on December 31, 2020 to 87,700 on the same date in 2021.

Our net revenue, between the years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2021, presented a negative compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.0% , from R$1,275,986 thousand to R$1,407,358 thousand, due to the impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In this period, our total student base grew at a compound annual rate of 10.0%.

Our strategy is to create a higher education ecosystem that operates in an integrated manner through an academic model that allows flexibility in the offer and creation of new courses and offer models in the undergraduate, graduate and continuing education segments ("life-long learning"), through brands with great regional appeal and widely recognized by students, professors and employers in each of the regions of the country where we operate.

Continuing Education Ecosystem - Ser Educacional

¹This measure is not an accounting measure according to Accounting Practices Adopted in Brazil or IFRS, nor should it be considered in isolation, or as an alternative to net income, as an operating measure, or as an alternative to operating cash flows, or as a measure of liquidity and not should be considered as the basis for the distribution of dividends. Other companies may calculate this measurement differently than we do. See additional information regarding its use in table 3.2 "a" of the 2022 Reference Form.

This offer is carried out through a complete teaching platform that acts as a true academic ecosystem, based on state-of-the-art technology, quality digital content and modern campi infrastructure dedicated to providing an increasingly better experience for students at competitive tuition prices, creating a differentiated value proposition to our students.

In order to make the creation of this higher education offering ecosystem possible, we created at the end of 2020, with official launch in 1Q21, Ubíqua, our new curriculum matrix based on a ubiquitous education model, which was structured to offer active teaching methodologies and digital content modern, which allows the quick creation of new courses with a lot of flexibility (click here to watch the video).

Our most relevant brands are: (i) in the Northeast, through UNINASSAU, Faculdades UNINASSAU, Faculdades Joaquim Nabuco - UNINABUCO; (ii) in the North, through the Universidade da Amazônia - UNAMA, Universidade do Norte - UNINORTE; and (iii) in the Southeast, with the Universidade de Guarulhos; and in the South, UNIFAEL - Centro Universitário da Lapa - UNIFAEL.

We try to be close to our target audience. Thus, our on-campus teaching and digital learning units are located at strategic points in the main metropolitan regions of the regions in which we operate, especially in locations that have a high demand for higher education and that offer adequate urban infrastructure to serve our students, generating a greater perception of value to our target audience. Regarding to digital learning, in addition to the strategic location of the centers, we favor cities with a precarious offer of on-campus education and higher per capita income.

Therefore, we maintain a management focused on profitability, financial discipline, operational excellence and the creation of value for our shareholders, which are reflected in the quality of our financial indicators.