Afya Limited Announces First-Quarter 2022 Financial Results

High and Predictable Growth

Full Year 2022 Guidance Reaffirmed

Robust EPS Expansion

NOVA LIMA, Brazil–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Afya Limited (Nasdaq: AFYA) (“Afya” or the “Company”), the leading medical education group and digital health services provider in Brazil, reported today financial and operating results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2022 (first quarter 2022). Financial results are expressed in Brazilian Reais and are presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

First Quarter 2022 Highlights

• 1Q22 Adjusted Net Revenue increased 41.0% YoY to R$567.7 million. Adjusted Net Revenue excluding acquisitions grew 10.6%, reaching R$445.3 million.
• 1Q22 Adjusted EBITDA increased 30.4% YoY reaching R$270.8 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 47.7%. Adjusted EBITDA excluding acquisitions grew 3.0%, reaching R$213.9 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 48.0%.
• 1Q22 Net Income of R$134.9 million, 19.1% higher than 1Q21.
• Cash conversion of 113.0%, with a solid cash position of R$ 789.4 million.
• ~260 thousand monthly active physicians and medical students using Afya’s Digital Services.

1. Message from Management

For us in Afya, these results indicate another great start for the year ahead. We are proud to present, once again, strong results, reaffirming the success and the resilience of Afya, along with high and predictable growth, and a record cash generation. It is important to highlight that our operational leverage and capital allocation discipline are resulting in a robust EPS expansion even considering the higher net debt and interest rate in the market.

We can finally see the pandemic losing its strength, pushing our students, employees, and partners to continue extracting the best from our campuses and digital health services.

One good example of that is our Continuing Education recovery in this quarter. After challenging periods, our practical classes are boosting again, as we’ve invested in an expansion plan that allowed us to more than double our campuses, launch new courses, and strengthen our intake process.

As presented last month at our Investors and ESG Day, our digital services strategy is more thriving than ever. Throughout development and new acquisitions, our digital ecosystem is being built with multiple offerings, unlocking new interactions and revenue streams that go beyond the physicians, achieving pharma players, hospitals, labs and drugstores chains through our platforms, scratching the surface of a total addressable market of R$28.4 billion.

M&A remains a key growth strategy for us and we will continue to evaluate opportunities to deploy capital into strategic acquisitions. In addition to Além da Medicina and Cardiopapers, we are proud to announce today another business combination, our third of 2022: Glic, a free diabetes care and management app solution for physicians and patients, that uses technology to improve diabetes education and daily routine practices, connecting users, devices and health providers. This business combination represents Afya´s entering into the physician-patient relationship pillar and further strengthens Afya’s digital services strategy and ecosystem. Also, we are committed to continuing to expand our undergrad medical operation granting at least 200 medical seats per year through M&A deals, as we also have a pipeline of more than 4,500 seats.

In the undergrad scenario, we’ve successfully consolidated our leadership in medical school seats in Brazil. The expansion of our offering in the undergrad business continues to grow strong, and, already in 2022, we have increased 200 operational seats with four new Mais Médicos authorized units by MEC, with operations to start in the second semester, along with 28 new seats from the UniSL Ji-Paraná campus. So far, Afya has reached 2,759 approved seats, representing almost 20 thousand students at maturity. Considering all acquisitions and seats approved by MEC, we’ve added 1,307 seats since our IPO and we have become extremely efficient in operating medical schools and we continue to see opportunities in this area. All this effort means one thing: that our medical education business remains, and will continue to be, the cornerstone of our business in the short and middle terms.

Regarding equity operations in the quarter, one is very important to be mentioned, even though it has happened after the quarter: this month, Afya was notified of the closing of the transaction where Bertelsmann SE& Co. KGaA, or “Bertelsmann”, acquired 6,000,000 Class B common shares of Afya at the purchase price of US$26.90 per share, from Nicolau Carvalho Esteves, Rosângela de Oliveira Tavares Esteves and NRE Capital Ventures Ltd. As a result of the closing of the transaction, Bertelsmann and the Esteves family will beneficially own ~57.5% and ~33.1% voting interest, and ~31% and ~17.9% of the total shares, respectively, in Afya. As previously said, we are delighted that Bertelsmann, one of the world’s leading media companies with a significant footprint in the education sector, has evidenced its commitment to Afya’s long-term strategy through its evaluation of increasing its stake. We look forward to continuing to benefit from the vision and commitment of the Esteves family with their significant shareholding and active participation in our company.

Last, but not least, as also shown at our Investors and ESG Day, we’ve been making significant improvements in the environmental, social, and governance agenda, sequentially. Subjects related to climate change, clean energy powering, environmental governance, social impact on vulnerable areas, diversity agenda and corporate culture, human rights, relationship with the community, transparency and compliance, internal audit and cyber security were widely disclosed. I would like to invite all of you that could not participate in Afya’s Investors and ESG Day to visit our Investor Relations website to check not only the video of the event but also our 2021 Sustainability Report, which we are proud to announce the availability simultaneously with this earnings release.

High and predictable growth, strong guidance for the year, and segments ramp-up: this proves how are we evolving and empowering our mission to become the reference in medical education and digital services, encouraging students and physicians to transform their ambitions into rewarding lifelong experiences. We are proud of our business and of what we have achieved so far, and also excited for what comes next during this year.

2. Key Events in the Quarter:

• Afya announced, on January 2022, that Júlio de Angeli, Vice President of Innovation & Digital Services, left the company for personal reasons. “We are grateful for the time Mr. de Angeli has spent with us developing our digital services strategy and we wish him all the best” said Virgilio Gibbon, our CEO. Lélio de Souza, who has joined Afya effective as of November 2021 and has 22 years of experience in tech companies, assumed the position of Vice President of Innovation & Digital Services.

• Third share repurchase program, on January 2022 – after the completion of its second share repurchase program, which resulted in the purchase of 1,383,108 Class A common shares, the Board of Directors has approved a new share repurchase program. Under this share repurchase program, Afya may repurchase up to 1,874,457 of its outstanding Class A common shares, which represents 4% of its free float, in the open market, based on prevailing market prices, beginning on January 27, 2022 until the earlier of the completion of the repurchase or December 31, 2022, depending upon market conditions. During the three-month period ended March 31, 2022, the Company repurchased 1,204,424 shares.

• Reinforcing our ESG commitment, Afya announced, on January 2022, that it is one of 418 companies across 45 countries and regions to join the 2022 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), a modified market capitalization-weighted index that aims to track the performance of public companies committed to transparency in gender-data reporting. This reference index measures gender equality across five pillars: female leadership & talent pipeline, equal pay & gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and pro-women brand. Afya was included on this year’s index for scoring above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect disclosure and the achievement or adoption of best-in-class statistics and policies.

• Afya announced, on February 2022, that the Secretary of Regulation and Supervision of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education (“MEC”) authorized the operations of the medical schools in Abaetutuba, in the State of Pará, and Itacoatiara, in the State of Amazonas, both under the Mais Médicos II program. With these authorizations, Afya reaches its third and fourth schools authorized to start operating under the Mais Medicos II program. Each medical school will contribute with 50 seats and, with that, Afya will reach 2,581 operating seats out of 2,731 approved seats.

• Afya announced, on March 2022, the acquisition of 100% of the total share capital of Além da Medicina, a medical content online platform for physicians and medical students that provides educational tools in addition to technical medical content that can assist them throughout their careers. Its robust content includes mentoring for residency, soft skills, finance, accounting, and investment basics for physicians. Além da Medicina had more than 4.000 subscribers in 2021, with a general NPS of 77 and almost 100.000 followers on Instagram. The company expects a R$12.7 million gross revenue for 2022.

• Afya announced, on March 2022, that it was notified that an affiliate of Bertelsmann SE& Co. KGaA, or “Bertelsmann” has agreed to buy 6,000,000 Class B common shares of Afya at the purchase price of US$26.90 per share, pursuant to a binding offer made by Nicolau Carvalho Esteves, Rosângela de Oliveira Tavares Esteves and NRE Capital Ventures Ltd (together with Nicolau Carvalho Esteves and Rosângela de Oliveira Tavares Esteves, the “Esteves Family”). Bertelsmann’s acceptance of the offer remains subject to due diligence and Bertelsmann board approval. If the transaction proceeds, following the transaction, Bertelsmann and the Esteves family will beneficially own ~57.5% and ~33.1% voting interest, and ~31.0% and ~17.8% of the total shares respectively, in Afya. Afya was notified that if Bertelsmann accepts the offer, the Esteves family and Bertelsmann have agreed to amend Afya’s articles of association and the current shareholder’s agreement between Bertelsmann and the Esteves family in order to allow Bertelsmann to consolidate its investment in Afya under International Financial Reporting Standards as a controlling shareholder.

• Afya announced, on March 2022, that the Secretary of Regulation and Supervision of Higher Education of MEC authorized the operations of the medical schools in Bragança, in the State of Pará, and Manacapuru, in the State of Amazonas, both under Mais Médicos II program. With these authorizations, Afya reaches its fifth and sixth authorized schools to start operating under the Mais Medicos II program. Each medical school will contribute with 50 seats and with that, Afya will reach 2,681 operating seats out of 2,731 approved seats.

• Afya announced, on March 2022, that the Secretary of Regulation and Supervision of Higher Education of MEC authorized the increase of 28 seats of Centro Universitário São Lucas, in Ji-Parana located in the state of Rondônia. With the authorization, Afya reaches 2,759 approved seats, which will represent around 19,865 students at maturity, considering FIES and PROUNI.

3. Subsequent Events in the Quarter

• CardioPapers acquisition in April, 2022 – CardioPapers is the main medical content and education platform in the Cardiology field, offering courses and books developed by physicians and for physicians, covering all phases of the medical career, aligned with Afya’s overall business strategy.
• Afya announced, on April 2022, that Mr. Paulo Passoni, a board member since May 2021, has submitted his resignation letter as a member of the Board of Directors. Mrs. Maria Tereza Azevedo was appointed as his replacement effective as of April 19^th.
• Afya announced, on April 2022, that the resolutions set out in its Notice of Annual General Meeting dated April 12, 2022 were duly passed at its Annual General Meeting held today: (1) the approval and ratification of Afya’s financial statements as of and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021; and (2) the approval of the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association available at Afya’s website at https://ir.afya.com.br, subject to and with effect from Closing of the transaction disclosed in the Form 13D/A on March 4, 2022, between Esteves Family and Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, accessible at the Company’s website at https://ir.afya.com.br.
• Afya announced, on May 2022, that it was notified of the closing of the transactions where Bertelsmann acquired 6,000,000 Class B common shares of Afya at the purchase price of US$26.90 per share, from Esteves Family. As a result of the closing of the transaction, Bertelsmann and the Esteves family will beneficially own ~57.5% and ~33.1% voting interest, and ~31.0% and ~17.8% of the total shares respectively, in Afya.
• Glic acquisition in May, 2022 – Glic is a free diabetes care and management app solution for physicians and patients that uses technology to improve diabetes education and daily routine practices, connecting users, devices and health providers. This business combination represents Afya´s entering into the physician-patient relationship pillar.

4. Full Year 2022 Guidance Reaffirmed

The Company is reaffirming its previously issued guidance for FY22 including the successfully concluded acceptances of new medical students for the first semester, ensuring 100% occupancy in all of its medical schools.

The guidance for FY2022 is defined in the following table:

5. 1Q22 Overview

Operational Review

Afya is the only company offering educational and technological solutions to support physicians across every stage of the medical career, from undergraduate students in their medical school years through medical residency preparatory courses, medical specialization programs and continuing medical education. The Company also offers solutions to empower the physicians in their daily routine including supporting clinic decisions through mobile app subscription and delivering practice management tools through a Software as a Service (SaaS model).

The Company reports results for three distinct business units. The first, Undergrad – medical schools, other healthcare programs and ex-health degrees. Revenue is generated from the monthly tuition fees the Company charges students enrolled in the undergraduate programs. The second, Continuing Education – specialization programs and graduate courses for physicians. Revenue is also generated from the monthly tuition fees the Company charges students enrolled in the specialization and graduate courses. The third is Digital Services – digital services offered by the Company at every stage of the medical career. This business unit is divided into: Content & Technology for Medical Education, Clinical Decision Software, Practice Management Tools & Electronic Medical Records, Physician-Patient Relationship, Telemedicine and Digital Prescription for physicians and provides access and demand for the healthcare players. Revenue is generated from printed books and e-books, which is recognized at the point in time when control is transferred to the customer and subscription fees (SaaS model).

Key Revenue Drivers – Undergraduate Courses

Key Revenue Drivers – Continuing Education and Digital Services

Key Operational Drivers – Digital Services

Monthly Active Users (MaU) represents the number of unique individuals that consumed Digital Services content in each one of our products in the last 30 days of a specific period.

Monthly Active Unique Users (MUAU) represents the number of unique individuals, without overlap of users among products, in the last 30 days of a specific period. Since this concept is being implemented for the first time starting this quarter, historical metrics of MUAU could not be disclosed.

Total monthly active users reached approximately 260 thousand, 17.1% higher over the same period in the last year.

Seasonality

Undergrad’s and Continuing Education tuition revenues are related to the intake process and monthly tuition fees charged to students over the period thus the Company does not have significant fluctuations during the semester. Digital Services is comprised mostly by Medcel, Pebmed and iClinic revenues. While Pebmed and iClinic do not have significant fluctuation regarding seasonality, Medcel’s revenue is concentrated in the first and last quarter of the year, as a result of the enrollments of Medcel’s clients period. The majority of Medcel’s revenues are derived from printed books and e-books, which are recognized at the point in time when control is transferred to the customer. Consequently, the Digital Services segment generally has higher revenues and results of operations in the first and last quarters of the year compared to the second and third quarters of the year.

Revenue

Adjusted Net Revenue for the first quarter of 2022 was R$567.7 million, an increase of 41.0% over the same period of the prior year, mainly due to the maturation of medical seats, an increase in the average ticket of Medical programs and consolidation of acquisitions of medical schools and digital services.

Contacts

Investor Relations Contact:

Afya Limited

ir@afya.com.br

Media Contact:

Cíntia Moraes Marin

cintia.marin@afya.com.br

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