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cogna EDUCAÇÃO EARNINGS RELEASE 4Q20 Belo Horizonte , March 31 , 2021 , Cogna Educação S.A. ( B3 : COGN3 ; OTCQX : COGNY ) - " Cogna " or " Company " announces today the results for the fourth quarter of 2020 ( 4Q20 ) . The Company's financial information is presented on a consolidated basis and in Brazilian real , in accordance with Brazilian Corporate Law and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in Brazil ( BRGAAP ) , and already conforms to International Financial Reporting Standards ( IFRS ) , except where stated otherwise . FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Values in R $ ( 000 ) Net Revenue Recurring EBITDA 4Q20 4Q19 1,643,048 1,929,710 ( 100,493 ) 504,052 Chg . % 3Q20 Chg . % Recurring EBITDA Margin -6.1 % 26.1 % -119.9 % -32.2 p.p. Adjusted Net Income 2 ( 589,232 ) Adjusted Net Margin -35.9 % 51,620 2.7 % Operating Cash Generation ( OCG ) after Capex 3 58,377 -58.1 % 307,216 60.9 % -1241.5 % -38.5 p.p. -81.0 % -119.0 p.p. -14.9 % 1,256,140 229,268 18.3 % ( 162,884 ) 30.8 % -143.8 % -24.4 p.p. 261.7 % -13.0 % 183,407 80.0 % -138.1 p.p. -22.9 p.p. -68.2 % 2020 5,899,176 689,652 11.7 % ( 907,464 ) -15.4 % 240,271 2019 7,027,194 2,355,487 33.5 % 771,966 11.0 % Chg . % -16.1 % -70.7 % -21.8 p.p. -217.6 % 206,039 -26.4 p.p. 16.6 % 34.8 % 8.7 % 26.1 p.p. OCG after Capex / Recurring EBITDA 1 EBITDA considers interest and late - payment fees and excludes impacts from inventory surplus value ; 2 Net income adjusted by amortization of intangible assets , inventory surplus value , recognition of asset impairment losses and write - off of deferred assets . 3 Includes organic capex and investments with M & A and Expansion . . Net revenue in the quarter fell 15 % on 4Q19 , reflecting the pressures on postsecondary education revenue and lower sales volume to the National Textbook Program ( PNLD ) , partially offset by continued growth at Vasta ( + 14 % ) and Platos ( + 10 % ) . Recurring EBITDA was negative in R $ 100 million , owing to the incremental provisioning for doubtful accounts ( PDA ) in the amount of R $ 415 million recognized in the 4Q20 . Excluding this complement , the 4Q20 recurring EBITDA was R $ 315 million , margin of 19.1 % and R $ 1.1 billion in 2020 . Adjusted net loss of R $ 589 million , reflecting the lower operating result , the PDA complement , and the increase in non - recurring items , which suffered one - off pressures from the restructuring of Kroton . Excluding these two last itens , the net result would have been positive in R $ 144 million ( and positive in R $ 55 million in 2020 ) . Positive operating cash generation ( OCG ) after capex of R $ 240 million in 2020 , 17 % higher than in 2019 , slightly above the R $ 230 million guidance , and representing 35 % of recurring EBITDA . Net debt / Adjusted EBITDA in the last 12 months reached 3.23x , for the second alternate time above the 3x limit established by the debentures rules , due to the ( non - cash ) incremental PDA recognized in the quarter . Although it does not configure a breach in the debentures ' covenants , we will begin negotiations with debtholders to renegotiate certain criteria related to the covenants . Excluding the extraordinary PDA adjustments of 2020 , this indicator was 1.89x . OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS Kroton . Restructuring of the Campus operation concluded and capture of efficiencies already taking place in 1Q21 , as announced in Cogna Day ( see impacts on the message from management ) . Investments of R $ 268 million bring an annual benefit of R $ 155 million ( base 2021 ) , justifying the project with a 16 - month payback , NPV of R $ 507 million and IRR of 86 % . In - depth restructuring of accounts receivable causes the rate of coverage for accounts receivable for the paying students to rise to 57 % and the average payment term for the paying students to fall to 74 days , among the best figures in the industry . Vasta . The annual contract value ( ACV ) for commercial year 2021 was R $ 853 million , 23 % higher than the subscription revenue recognized in 2020 ( 4Q19 to 3Q20 ) and was obtained exclusively organically . Traditional learning systems ( + 26 % ) and complementary solutions ( + 69 % ) were the highlights .