Arco Reports Second Quarter 2023 Results

Arco Platform Limited, or Arco or the Company (Nasdaq: ARCE), today reported financial and operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023.

Consolidated 2Q23 and 1H23 figures include full results of isaac, our most recent acquisition, that is reported within financial & management segment. Therefore, for an accurate comparison year over year we recommend investors to reach pedagogical business figures (core & supplemental solutions).

Note: Please see adjusted EBITDA reconciliation and adjusted Net Income reconciliation on page 15.

2Q23 & 1H23 Highlights

• Net revenue for the second quarter was R$471.0 million, a 14.3% YoY increase, with Core solutions totaling R$371.9 million (+1.2% YoY), Supplemental solutions totaling R$23.8 million (-46.9% YoY due to a different distribution of the ACV recognition per quarter relative to last year) and financial & management solutions (F&M) posting a significant 104.3% YoY growth (versus 2Q22 pro-forma figures, prior to isaac’s acquisition by Arco) with R$ 75.3 million.
  
  Net revenue for pedagogical business (Core and Supplemental solutions) decreased 4.0% YoY in the second quarter due to deliveries’ seasonality (20.5% ACV recognition in 2Q23 vs. 26.4% in 2Q22) and part of June deliveries deferred to July, impacting 2Q23 ACV recognition in approximately R$ 36 million. Cycle-to-date figures (October through June) reaffirm the solid ACV growth expected for the 2023 cycle, with Core totaling R$1,210.9 million (+17.0% YoY) and Supplemental totaling R$331.6 million (+23.6% YoY).
  
  In June 2023, Arco reached 79.4% of its 2023 ACV recognized cycle-to-date vs. 83.2% in June 2022. We recommend that investors analyze our P&L performance on a cycle-to-date basis, for a more accurate assessment of the business underlying profitability trends.
  

• Cash gross margin (gross margin excluding depreciation and amortization) on a consolidated basis was 70.2% in 2Q23 (versus 75.8% in 2Q22) and 69.7%, in 1H23 (versus 77.4% in 1H22).
  
  Pedagogical business cash gross margin was 74.9% in 2Q23 (versus 75.8% in 2Q22) and 74.7% in CTD23 (versus 79.3% in CTD22). 1H23 printing costs were affected by the previously discussed price increases in the paper supply chain in the end of 2022 (consequence of pulp and paper commodity prices hike), as printing contracts are negotiated in advance of the collections. We continue to roll out cost reduction initiatives, such as the centralization of our supply operations to capture scale gains, which we expected to offset and outpace such recent and punctual external cost pressures and expect positive outcomes on 2H23 and, specially, in the 2024 cycle.
  

• In 2Q23, consolidated selling expenses excluding depreciation and amortization totaled R$177.3 million (+20.3% YoY). For 1H23, consolidated selling expenses excluding depreciation and amortization totaled R$338.6 (+18.7 YoY).
  
  Pedagogical business posted R$160.0 million in selling expenses in 2Q23 (+8.6% YoY). Cycle-to-date selling expenses for the pedagogical business reached R$465.9 million, up 15.9% YoY and representing 30.4% of revenues in the cycle, vs 31.0% in the same period 2022.
  

• General and administrative expenses (G&A) figures excluding depreciation and amortization totaled R$115.7 million in 2Q23 (+75.4% YoY), an increase driven by the consolidation of isaac structure. For the first six months of 2023, G&A expenses excluding depreciation and amortization were R$267.1 (+92.7% YoY) mostly related to isaac operations (teams & tech).
  
  Pedagogical business G&A expenses excluding depreciation and amortization reached R$92.1 million (+39.6% YoY versus 2Q22). Cycle-to-date G&A for the pedagogical business increased 17.7% YoY, representing 16.0% of revenues in the 2023 cycle, vs 16.1% in the same period 2022.
  

• Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was R$83.5 million in 2Q23 (-24.6% YoY), with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.7%. In 1H23, consolidated adjusted EBITDA was R$194.2 (-24.6% YoY), with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.3% (vs. 30.6% for the same period in 2022).
  
  Pedagogical business delivered an adjusted EBITDA of R$85.3 million (-22.9% YoY) with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 21.6% versus 26.9% in 2Q23, pressured by the lower revenue recognition seasonality. In the 2023 cycle-to-date, adjusted EBITDA margin was 36.3% for the pedagogical business versus 36.8% CTD 22. As previously mentioned, atypical deliveries deferring to July not only impacted revenue recognition but also Adjusted EBITDA cycle to date. For a better comparable analysis cycle to date, we have included July results. In the period between October and July, 2023 cycle posted a 23% adjusted EBITDA growth, delivering 36.3% Adjusted EBITDA margin, versus 34.8% margin in the 2022 cycle until July. We reiterate our 2023 guidance for EBITDA margin between 36.5% and 38.5%.
  
  F&M vertical posted an adjusted EBITDA of R$(1.8) million in 2Q23, versus a pro-forma R$(32.5) million in 2Q22 (prior to the acquisition by Arco), representing an EBITDA margin improvement of 85.8 p.p., from (88.3)% in 2Q22 to (2.4%) in 2Q23. In 1H23, F&M posted an Adjusted EBITDA margin of (12.2)% versus a pro forma (92.4)% margin in the first half of 2022.
  

• Consolidated adjusted net income (loss) in 2Q23 was R$78.1 million, with an adjusted net margin of 16.6% (versus -5.6% in 2Q22). For 1H23, consolidated adjusted net income totalized R$36.1 million, with an adjusted net margin of 3.6 % (versus 1.0% in 1H22).
  

• Consolidated cash from operations in the 1H23 reached R$365.5 million (up from R$294.3 million in 1H22). For the first half of the year, free cash flow to firm (managerial) was R$252.7 million, a R$96.1 million improvement compared to the R$156.6 million free cash flow to firm of 1H22. After interest payment, Arco generated R$ 47.7 million of free cash flow (representing 4.7% of net revenues) in the first half of 2023 (vs. R$85.4 million in 1H22, representing 10.1% of net revenues).

Pedagogical business free cash flow to firm keeps the pace from previous quarter, delivering significant improvement year over year. Free cash flow to firm (managerial) cycle-to-date was R$205.2 million, R$285.9.0 million above the R$(80.7) million free cash flow to firm of CTD 2022, showing important improvements across cash flow drivers, including working capital, capex and taxes.

To obtain better price conditions for the 2024 cycle, we anticipated the paper acquisition in 2Q23 versus previous years (R$58M as of June), increasing inventory levels earlier in the cycle. To maintain comparability between quarters, we have disclosed a pro-forma days of inventory, adjusted by the paper acquisition.

• Pedagogical solutions days of sales outstanding (DSO) in 2Q23 was 142 days vs 141 days in the 2Q22. Delinquency figures for pedagogical business continue posting YoY improvement and ended 2Q23 at 4.6% from 5.6% in 2Q22 and 5.3% in 1Q23, driven by our collection initiatives.

CAPEX in 2Q23 was R$42.4 million, or 9.0% of net revenue (versus 10.5% of net revenue in 2Q22, when excluding R$ 8.7 million from PGS and Mentes acquisition). Pedagogical business CAPEX was R$ 30.1 million, or 7.6% of net revenue (versus 10.5% of net revenue in 2Q22). In the 2023 cycle to date, CAPEX reached 6.7% of revenues vs 14.4% in the 2022 cycle so far and has contributed to significant expansion on the Adj. EBITDA minus CAPEX metric that reached 29.6% cycle to date in June, 2023, versus 22.4% cycle to date 2022.