Aakash Educational Services (AESL) plans to open 250 new centres as part of its Aakash 2.0 strategic initiative, which will cater to the areas where the company feels it’s not adequately present. Of this, around 100 centres will be operational by December, MD and CEO Deepak Mehrotra, told FE in an interaction. Much of these centres will be on a franchisee model, with the company owning a few.
He said that Aakash 2.0 focuses on accessibility and efficacy. Mehrotra said that Aakash aims to double its current student base of 400,000 within the next 3-4 years. To achieve this, it will invest in technology, including AI and machine learning, to enhance personalised learning experiences and improve teacher training programmes.
Despite some reported layoffs at the firm recently, Mehrotra said that Aakash plans to be a net hirer in the coming year. “Each centre is expected to have around 10-30 employees, translating into a requirement of 2,500-7,500 staffers,” he said.
The company’s financials for FY23 and FY24 are currently delayed due to the complexities of the split from Byju’s. Mehrotra, however said that the audited results is expected to be posted within six weeks. In FY22, Aakash had reported a 37% jump in its revenues to Rs 1,464 crore and a net profit of Rs 79.5 crore, a four-fold increase from the previous year’s loss of Rs 25 crore.
Meanwhile, Manipal Group chairman, Ranjan Pai has emerged as the largest shareholder of Aakash with over 50% stake. Byju’s parent company, Think & Learn’s stake has reduced from 40% in 2021 to 25.75%.
Byju’s founder, Byju Raveendran no longer holds any individual stake, likely having sold his shares to Beeaar Investco Pte (now holding 16.09%) and Singapore VII Topco I Pte Ltd (now holding 6.91%). The Chaudhrys, the erstwhile promoters of Aakash, collectively hold 11.12%, while Great Learning Education Services seems to have completely exited, with its stake falling from around 16% to a nominal single share.