One of the surprising stories of the last 12 months has been education placement business IDP. The first half has seen a quicker than anticipated recovery. EBITDA for the half was down around a third on last year, however coming in at $68m it covered a large chunk of the markets full year expectation of $98m. UK students – who survived widespread boarder closures – were the main driver of the rebound following an understandably weak 4Q20. Costs were also in focus with a significant portion of the base being variable, helping IDP cushion the blow to margins despite weak revenues. There was little in the way of an outlook statement, but the first half spoke for itself. We prefer other stocks to play the reopening trade.
MM are bullish IEL
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