EDUCOMP SOLUTIONS LTD : A BEST BUDGET BUY !!!

Scrip Code: 532696 / EDUCOMP

CMP:  Rs. 200.70; Buy at Rs. 198 levels.
Medium to Long Term Target – Rs. 250; STOP LOSS – Rs. 182.16; Market Cap: Rs. 1,927.27 cr; 52 Week High/Low: Rs. 492.50 / Rs. 162.00; Total Shares: 9,60,27,630 shares; Promoters : 4,75,53,645 shares –49.52 %; Total Public holding : 4,84,73,985 shares – 50.47 %; Book Value: Rs. 167.26; Face Value: Rs. 2.00; EPS: Rs. 27.90; Div: 30 % ; P/E: 7.19 times; Ind. P/E: 11.18; EV/EBITDA: 4.86.

Total Debt: 671.37; Enterprise Value: Rs. 2,618.09 cr.

EDUCOMP SOLUTIONS LTD: The Company was founded in 1994 and is based in Gurgaon, India. Educomp Solutions Limited provides education solutions to schools, learners, and educators in India. The company’s products comprise SmartClass - an education content and technology solution; QuEST - Quality Education for Students and Teachers, which provides various services, including professional development programs for educators and students, whole school development programs, parents empowerment programs, mathematical lab kits, and parents empowerment programs; Mathguru - a math-help program; WiZiQ - a Web learning platform, which connects students and teachers worldwide; LearnHub - a social learning network; ETEN - a tele-education network; and MagiKeys - a software application that allows government school students to surf the Web, email, chat, and write documents in their mother tongue. Its products also include Educomp O3 - an one on one learning system; Pave - an alpha phonics and reading program; EduLearn - a learning management system; Wizlearn - an advanced learning platform; Singaporelearning.com - a learning portal for parents and students mainly from Singapore; Aha!Math - a Web-delivered supplemental math curriculum for grades K-5; EasyTech - a Web-delivered K-8 technology literacy curriculum; Aha!Science - a supplemental science curriculum for grades 3-5; and Millennium Learning System - a learning delivery system. In addition, the company operates Leap learning centers; Learning Hour tutoring centers; IndiaCan vocational training centers; EduSchools and higher education institutions under Raffles Millennium International, JRE Group of Institutions, and Millennium Academy of Professional Studies brand names. Further, it provides various services, such as professional development; education infrastructure implementation, teacher training, and content development projects; EduIgnite career guidance program; and TechLiteracy Assessment to measure and report technology literacy. As of 2011, the Educomp Solutions Ltd held portfolio of over 15 direct subsidiaries and approximately 25 indirect subsidiaries in India, Singapore, the United States and Canada. In February 2011, the company acquired majority stake in Gateforum Educational Services Pvt Ltd. EDUCOMP SOLUTION is locally compared with Everonn Education Ltd and with Ichishin Holdings Company Ltd and Riso Kyoiku Co. Ltd globally.

Investment Rationale:

Educomp Solutions has steadily moved up the value chain‐from an Instructional Communication Technologies (ICT) provider to one of the largest school chains in the country. The company has proved its execution skills and is well placed to take advantage of the new opportunities in the education sector. The ICT business gives it access to PPP (Public Private Partnership) projects envisaged for government schools. Smartclass has helped Educomp to develop a differentiated pedagogy (a study of being teacher or process of teaching) for its K‐12 (Kindergarten to Class 12) schools and have proved its execution skills in the K‐12  section. The base for the company’s future expansion into the vocational/ higher education space is this Smart Class. However, the past two quarters have seen a massive detoriation in the profitability of its core segment i.e. Smartclass. This is a key concern from the near to medium term perspective as the other businesses that can drive growth growing forward are still at nascent stages. Educomp’s business is capital intensive due to upfront investments required in the K‐12 segment or BOOT model for smartclass. The capex requirements are set to increase by threefold, particularly for its plans in K‐12 schools (Educomp provides facilities and technology to schools). The school business, as per regulations, cannot be a profit making enterprise So most companies have avoided this regulatory hassles by creating subsidiaries that charge schools for infrastructure and services provided, while the schools themselves operate at breakeven. Many state governments have set up regulatory bodies to regulate fees charged by schools; any increase in fees will require such a body’s prior approval. So, Educomp has a first mover advantage in smartclass and has been able to move quickly to establish itself in schools. Though margins are attractive in smartclass, with no strong barriers to entry in this sector - a competition is expected. However FITCH Rating a rating agency has affirmed its rating on Educomp to stable as they see the affirmative factors like Educomp's first mover advantage, its innovative business offering, market leadership in multimedia education and a diversified presence across all segments of the education sector covering pre schools, K-12 education, multimedia and online learning to higher education/vocational skills. Also Educomp is expected to benefit from the strong renewal rates in smart class business.The contracts in smart class are typically for 5 years and come up for renewal thereafter.  

Outlook and Valuation:

Union Budget is very close and I think Educomp Solutions will see a run up as government trends to increase spending on education sector as this sector is important for the core and sustainable development of the country. A growing economy, growing income, increasing urbanization, improving lifestyle and the determination of the young and educated couple to provide better and best quality higher education to their kids will result in higher penetration of ICT market in India. India enjoys good growth in Per capita income where more and more parents tries to provide best of the education to their kids. Further Government's Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is the area to watch for as government tends to increase emphasis on PPP in education and ICT implementation in schools which would benefit firms like Educomp. Also due to FITCH Rating Educomp may see any private equity infusion or other initiatives such as disinvestment, if used for debt reduction or reduced off balance sheet corporate guarantees debt which leads to reduction in financial leverage to 2x or below its consistent basis. Educomp continued its good show in the SmartClass business with 6,818 classroom additions (up 28% YoY) in Q2FY12. Management has maintained its FY12 guidance of 40,000 ‐ 45,000 classroom additions (12,000 in H1FY12), which is aggressive. They have built in 34,000 additions in FY12, implying 45 % YoY growth in H2FY12. After incurring heavy capex in the past many quarters (and significantly higher than Street expectations), the capex have dipped during Q2FY12, as guided by management and no capex was incurred in higher learning versus the capex of Rs. 105 Cr which incurred in Q1FY12. Further, the K‐12 capex was Rs. 48 Cr versus Rs. 115 Cr in Q1FY12. Management has guided for even lower capex in H2FY12, which is a positive.  Educomp’s Q2FY12 PAT of Rs. 12.80 Cr (including MTM forex loss of Rs. 37.40 Cr) was significantly below expectation, on back of higher losses in online and higher learning segments. Though SmartClass performed well during the quarter, management’s FY12 guidance is aggressive, in the broader view. It is expected that it can report 8 % ‐ 13 % below consensus on FY12‐13 EPS estimates and expect the earnings downgrade cycle to continue. While a dip in capex in Q2FY12 is a key positive, sustaining it for a few more quarters is important for any re‐rating of the stock. Educomp stock prices fell substantially after the IT raids on its premises but the company clarified that it was the survey conducted by IT department and was not a raid, however due to this sort of negative news gives a good opportunity to enter & accumulate the stock at lower prices. At the current market price of Rs. 200.70, the stock is trading at a PE of 6.78 x FY12E and 4.98 x FY13E respectively. The company can post Earnings per share (EPS) of Rs. 29.60 in FY12E and Rs. 40.30 in FY13E. One can buy EDUCOMP SOLUTION with a target price of Rs. 250/share for Medium to Long term investment and for the SHORT TERM PLAYERS it should be Rs. 210.00 from the day of budget.

KEY FINANCIALS	FY10	FY11	FY12E	FY13E
REVENUES (Rs. Crs)	1,039.50	1,350.90	1,514.00	1,917.60
NET PROFIT (Rs. Crs)	275.90	336.60	244.40	383.70
EPS (Rs.)	29.30	35.10	29.60	40.30
PE (x)	6.00	5.00	5.90	4.30
P/BV (x)	1.00	0.80	0.70	0.06
EV/EBITDA (x)	4.30	4.90	4.80	3.50
ROE (%)	27.40	17.80	12.60	15.10
ROCE (%)	17.60	13.90	13.10	16.70

I would buy EDUCOMP SOLUTIONS LTD with a price target of Rs. 250 for Medium to Long term. As I always say, I am a long term believer in markets & I do respect the markets and will keep a strict stop loss of 8 % or Rs. 182.16 on every purchase.

CAREER POINT LTD : Invest In Future - A Long Term Bet !!!

Scrip Code: 533260 / CPIL

CMP:  Rs. 274.15; Buy at current levels. 

Short term Target: Rs. 285, 6 month Target – Rs. 330; STOP LOSS – Rs. 252.20; Market Cap: Rs. 497.11 cr; 52 Week High/Low: Rs. 535.70 / Rs. 245.00

Total Shares: 1,81,32,939 shares; Promoters : 1,08,66,000 shares –59.92 %; Total Public holding : 72,66,939 shares – 40.08 %; Book Value: Rs. 150.65; Face Value: Rs. 10.00; EPS: Rs. 16.11; Div: 10.00 % ; P/E: 17.01 times; Ind. P/E: 27.46; EV/EBITDA: 14.34

Total Debt: Rs. NIL cr; Enterprise Value: Rs. 497.11 cr.

CAREER POINT LTD: The Company was founded in 1993 and is based in Kota, India. Promoted by Pramod Maheshwari, Om Prakash Maheshwari and Nawal Kishore Maheshwari. The company was formerly known as Career Point Infosystems Limited and changed its name to Career Point Ltd. in September 2011. Career Point is one of the leading providers of tutorial services in India, with the main centre in Kota, Rajasthan. Career point infosystems ltd engages in the provision of tutorial services in India. The company offers tutorial services to high school and post high school students for various competitive entrance examinations, including IIT JEE, AIEEE, SLEEE, AIPMT, NTSE, KVPY, and Science Olympiad. It provides its tutorial services through its owned/operated and franchised training centers, synchro-school courses integrated with schools, distance learning courses, and TechEdge and knowledge labs. The company also offers education consultancy and management services to schools, colleges, and universities, as well as infrastructure support services for setting up educational institutions. In addition, it provides assessment and online testing services through the a2zfeedback.com, a2zexam.com, Ecareerpoint, and Examtayari Web sites. Company has two subsidiaries: Career Point Infra (CP Infra) and Career Point Edutech. CP Infra renders infrastructure and allied services for setting up physical infrastructure for educational institutions. Edutech develops technologybased educational solution and software. Company has 14 Company-operated training Centers and 18 franchised Centers. CPIL made a successful IPO at Rs. 310/sh & got listed on Oct 10 2010.

Investment Rationale: The Kota centre's average fee for each student for IIT-JEE course is Rs 64000, for AIEEE - Rs 35000, for AIPPMT - Rs 40000, and for distance learning Rs 5000.  Each year, the Kota centre's fee is hiked by 6 %, while a new centre's fee is hiked by 20 % after a year, by 10 % to 15 % after three years to 15 %, and by 6 % subsequently. Company has two subsidiaries: Career Point Infra (CP Infra) and Career Point Edutech. CP Infra renders infrastructure and allied services for setting up physical infrastructure for educational institutions. Edutech develops technology based educational solution and software. Both subsidiaries are yet to make money. Career Point Infosystems has a team of 231 faculty members, excluding faculty members of franchisees, comprising graduates in engineering and science. It has over a period of time built content repository of over 10,000 pages of text content and over 12,000 minutes of video content for various tutorial services. CPIL has a strong presence in Kota providing its educational services to over 25 % of the total students that enroll in Kota each year. The company currently operates 12 training centers and 11 franchisees throughout the country. They plan to open 10 training centers and 5 franchisees every year till FY14E. The company also plans to set up an integrated university campus (Kota) to cater to its captive students via its subsidiary Career Point Infrastructure Ltd, at an approximate cost of Rs 65 crores with a capacity of 3000 students. The campus will offer housing, lodging and eating facilities to its students. The company plans Capital Expenditures worth Rs 120 cr in the current fiscal year out of which Rs 45 crores have already been spent. The cash in their books stood at Rs 150 crores (Q1FY12) which should allow them to continue their ongoing operations and expansions for another year without needing to raise any additional funds. With the business model of providing educational solution, the company primarily generates sufficient cash/revenue to support its working capital needs of its various centers and ongoing activities. Sufficient Internal Accruals is the primary reason why the company does not need to raise additional debt nor dilute its equity to fund its ongoing expansion plans. The margins in the educational space make the business quite profitable provided the company maintains the quality of its services. CPIL's Revenue generation depends mainly on the numbers of students the company can enroll and hence, the company recruits reputed professionals/teachers in order to attract a majority of these students. The company has bifurcated its overall curriculum into smaller courses in order to lower its dependence on a niche category of professors. Career Point Ltd will have to increase its student base in order to grow and maintain its reputed image as a quality educational solutions provider. The company plans to further increase its foothold in the Formal Education space through the PPP model along with the Government. This will enable the company to tap the Formal Education space in the country. CPIL also plans to expand their Synchro schools, which involves forming partnerships with associated schools to provide tutorial services for entrance exams to its students. The advantage of this type of model is that it allows them to manage various colleges and schools without having to incurr infrastructure cost of actually building campuses. Apart from the university in KOTA they also plan to set up a university in Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh along with various Technical campuses at Rajsamand, Rajasthan; offering Engineering, MBA and MCA degrees/courses. The company is also focusing on expanding through technology like broadband, to offer their services to a much broader market. This will inable them to cater to a larger student base via the internet hence reducing the cost of setting up a number of training centres.

Outlook and Valuation:

The company has managed to build a strong brand name in the North Western region of India when it comes to the educational solution's space. The very fact that more than 25 % of the students enrolled in Kota avail CPIL's expertise; this shows the trust by the students in the company's services. In the educational solutions space trust and popularity comes from past experience and word of mouth. CPIL has created a strong foothold in Kota and has expanded to several other Northern States in the country. AIEEE, IIT-JEE and AIPMT are really competitive and valued entrance exams. Past results in these exams have shown that CPIL's students were amongst the toppers. This re-affirms the quality of coaching CPIL's various training centers offer.  Another positive for the industry is the number of students that appear for these exams. Nearly 85 % of the students appearing for these exams take the help of coaching classes. More than 10 lakhs students from all over the country had applied for the AIEEE entrance alone. The competitive nature of these exams and the importance they are given on the educational front enables the company to price its expertise at a premium as compared to others in the field. The company's aggressive expansion plans in the Formal Educational space via PPP, Synchro schools, etc will expose it to a much larger market in terms of revenue and growth potential. CPIL has started CPlive to offer live online tutorials via the internet. They also have also started an E-learning portal called ecareerpoint.com that offers “Adaptive Testing” for the preparation of Engineering Entrance Exams like IIT-JEE, AIEEE and BIT-SAT. CPIL's revenue growth will depend on the number of student’s its manages to enroll. With the sector getting more competitive the company needs to expand its operations as well as maintain its brand name. Some companies in the tutorial space offer the same courses as CPIL and have a better brand image and financials than the company. The tutorial space is currently unregulated by the Government. With the rapidly increasing market size of this space, the Government will pass regulations and legislations in the future to regulate the operations of the players in this sector. Any adverse policies might harm CPIL's operations or profitability. It is expected that CPIL's revenues to grow by 20 % and 14 % in FY12E and FY13E respectively. CPIL's internal accruals should take care of their expansion plans for the next 1-1.5 years which puts them in a good position to post above average return ratios. I have a bullish view on the “Educational Sector” from a long term perspective.  At the current market price of Rs. 274.15, the stock is trading at 20.45 x FY12E and 14.58 x FY13E respectively. Earnings per share (EPS) of company for FY12E and FY13E are seen at Rs. 13.40 and Rs. 18.80 respectively. One can buy CPIL with a target price of Rs. 330.00 for Medium to Long term investment and for the SHORT TERM PLAYERS it should be Rs. 285.00

KEY FINANCIALS	FY10	FY11	FY12E	FY13E
SALES (Rs. Crs)	61.70	78.63	84.30	132.90
NET PROFIT (Rs. Crs)	17.80	23.20	24.20	34.10
EPS (Rs.)	12.30	12.80	13.40	18.80
PE (x)	21.30	20.40	19.60	13.90
P/BV (x)	2.80	1.80	1.60	1.50
EV/EBITDA (x)	19.00	15.30	14.60	9.20
ROCE (%)	13.30	8.70	8.40	10.50
RONW (%)	11.20	7.10	6.40	9.10

I would buy CAREER POINT INFOSYSTEMS LTD with a price target of Rs. 285 for the short term and Rs. 330 for the 6 month target. As I always say, I am a long term believer in markets & I do respect the markets and will keep a strict stop loss of 8 % or Rs. 252.20 on every purchase.