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VASTA PLATFORM Vasta Announces First Quarter 2021 Results May 14 , 2021 SÃO PAULO , Brazil , May 14 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) Vasta Platform Limited ( NASDAQ : VSTA ) - " Vasta " or the " Company , " announces today its financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2021 ( 4Q21 ) ended March 31 , 2021. Financial results are expressed in Brazilian Reais and are presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ( IFRS ) . HIGHLIGHTS • Revenue from subscription products ex - PAR jumped 20 % in the 4Q 20 and 1021 combined ( 2021 commercial year to date ) , in comparison to the same period of last year . This increase is slightly below the 23 % growth in ACV , owing to the lower number of students at partner schools due to the Covid - 19 effects . Infographic Net revenue breakdown among business lines in the commercial cycle to date , 2021 vs. 2020 ( R $ million ) Subscription ex - PAR 2020 Total -17 % 2021 342 410 2020 2021 PAR -16 % 2020 2021 Non - subscription 2020 2021 Net revenue breakdown among business lines in the commercial cycle to date , 2021 vs. 2020 ( R $ million ) • The PAR learning system , which is based on textbooks , was more impacted than non - textbook products due to the reuse of textbooks by families , and its revenue decreased 16 % in the 2021 commercial cycle to date versus last year . In total , revenue from subscription products increased 16 % in the same comparison . • Non - subscription revenue fell 65 % in the commercial year to date , explained by the weakness in the textbook chain and by the migration of clients that used to purchase non - subscription products to our subscription services . • Consolidated net revenue increased 10 % in the 2021 commercial year to date , with subscription revenue accounting for 84 % of total vs. 64 % in the same period last year . In the quarter , consolidated net revenue fell 28 % , resulting from 8 % drop in subscription revenue and a 70 % decline non - subscription revenue . • Revenue from subscription products in the 1021 and in the 2021 commercial year to date amounted to 29 % and 62 % of 2021 ACV , respectively . Due to the adverse context , we expect the subscription revenue of 2021 commercial year ( 4Q 20 to 3Q21 ) to be lower than the ACV 2021 . • In the 2021 commercial year to date , the lower net revenue drove a 15 % decline in adjusted EBITDA . However , adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 0.9p.p. , reflecting the higher participation of revenues from subscription products in the mix , as well as our tight control on costs and expenses . Adjusted net income totaled R $ 163 million in the 2021 commercial year to date , a 6 % increase year - on - year . • Our client base for the 2021 commercial year increased by 456 new clients , with a contract duration that averages more than 3.5 years . Therefore , we are well positioned to capture incremental revenue when our clients recover their student base after the pandemic . • We highlight a new partnership with Colegio Fibonacci , present for 9 consecutive years among Brazil's top 10 ranking in the National High School Exam ( ENEM ) . With Fibonacci we will launch a set of new assessment services in Plurall and a new premium learning system in 2022 . • Anglo , our top - notch learning system , had the highest number of approvals in the 2021 admission tests of Brazil's and LatAm's best universities , Universidade de São Paulo ( USP ) and Universidade de Campinas ( Unicamp ) , according to the Times Higher Education ranking . • Vasta expanded its leadership in terms of top - ranked schools in the 2019 ENEM edition ( last available data ) , with 48 % and 51 % more schools ranked top - 1 or top - 3 in their cities , respectively , than the second player . MESSAGE FROM MANAGEMENT As we started 2021 , at the same time we celebrated the success of our commercial cycle - when we delivered a 23 % organic growth in the annual contract value ( ACV ) - , a second wave of Covid - 19 in Brazil , much more severe than the first of 2020 , materially impacted the perspectives for the present commercial year ( October 2020 to September 2021 ) . Differently from 2020 , when the first wave hit the country when children were already enrolled and most of materials for that school year were already delivered , the second wave ( and the social isolation measures that followed ) emerged precisely when the peak of enrollments at private schools occurs , adding to an already fragile macroeconomic outlook , bringing more challenges than we could have anticipated .