The following table presents selected financial data from the Q3 Filing with comparisons. All figures are in thousands of Canadian dollars, except share and per share data, unless otherwise noted. References to "2024 YTD" are to the nine months ended May 31, 2024, and references to "2023 YTD" are to the nine months ended May 31, 2023.
"We continued into the third quarter of fiscal 2024 with steady growth despite the sale of our hotel property in November 2023 for $70 million resulting in lost hotel revenue, and despite the reduction of international student permits issued by the Federal government which impacted international enrollments," said Toby Chu, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of GECC. "During the first nine months, the Company's total revenue increased by 5% year-over-year, and our domestic and international education revenue at Sprott Shaw College showed a steady growth of 7%. Our recruitment and student advisory division, GEA, grew by 16% year-over-year.
"The housing shortage in Metro Vancouver drove significant growth in our student housing revenue year-over-year. If we exclude the lost hotel revenue after the sale of our hotel property in Q1, and compare exclusively the student housing revenue year-over-year, the student housing revenue alone achieved a healthy growth of 33% year-over-year.
"Overall, GECC's net income before income tax reached $4.253 million, an increase of $9.127 million from the same period last year. EBITDA increased to $18.445 million, an increase of 72% year-over-year.
"On June 5, 2024, the Bank of Canada's prime lending rate dropped 0.25% afterholding steadily at its peak for about 27 months. We are seeing positive signals for further rate decreases in the coming quarters of 2024 and 2025. Management will focus on rolling out more rental beds to the student community with the planned deployment of GEC® Kingsway in August 2024, adding 284 new beds to our portfolio. We are also expecting the start of excavation of GEC® Oakridge after the summer break, the upgrading of the density of GEC® Langara and the modifying of the configuration of GEC Education Mega Centre® in Surrey by increasing the number of rental floors while decreasing the number of commercial floors."
About GECC:
GECC is one of Canada's largest education and student housing investment companies focused on the domestic and global education market since 1994. GECC operates business and language colleges, student-centric rental apartments, recruitment centres and corporate offices at 40 locations in Canada and abroad. Its education subsidiaries include Sprott Shaw College Corp. (established in 1903), Sprott Shaw Language College, Vancouver International College Career Campus, and CIBT School of Business & Technology Corp. GECC offers over 150 educational programs in healthcare, emergency paramedic, business management, e-commerce, cyber-security, hotel management, and language training through these schools. In fiscal 2023, GECC serviced over 14,277 domestic and international students through its educational, rental housing and recruitment subsidiaries.
GECC owns Global Education City Holdings Inc. ("GECH"), an investment holding and development company focused on education-related real estate, such as student-centric rental apartments and education super-centres. In fiscal 2023, GECH operated fifteen properties under the GEC® brand in Metro Vancouver and provided accommodation services to 92 partner schools serving 3,200 students from 71 countries. The total portfolio and development budget under the GEC® brand exceeds $1.2 billion.
GECC also owns Global Education Alliance Inc. ("GEA") and Irix Design Group Inc. ("IRIX"). GEA recruits international students for elite kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities in North America. Irix is a leading design and advertising company based in Vancouver, Canada. Visit us online and watch our corporate video at www.GEChq.com.
For more information, contact:
Toby Chu
Chairman, President & CEO
Global Education Communities Corp.
Investor Relations Contact: 1-604-871-9909 extension 319 or | Email: info@GEChq.com
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
| Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information (the "forward-looking statements") about GECC and its plans. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, the expectation of further decreases in the Bank of Canada's prime lending rate, the planned deployment of GEC® Kingsway in August 2024, the start of excavation of GEC® Oakridge after the summer break, the upgrading of the density of GEC® Langara and the modifying of the configuration of GEC Education Mega Centre®. The forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors (collectively, the "Risks") that could cause the Company's actual results or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by forward-looking statements. The Risks include, without limitation, national and global economic factors, customary risks of the construction industry, unexpected delays or requirements of the applicable municipalities, and the other risk factors identified in the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the financial year ended August 31, 2023. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions and expectations of the Company's management at the time they are made, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions or expectations, or other circumstances should change, except as may be required by law.
NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES
The Company has included certain non-IFRS financial measures in this news release including: (a) Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization ("EBITDA"); (b) Adjusted EBITDA which is EBITDA adjusted for the gain (loss) on sale of property and equipment, gain (loss) on Change in fair value of the Company's investment properties, the provision for expected credit losses on development and other assets, the impairment of development assets, and the gain (loss) on Change in fair value of derivative instruments; and (c) Gross Profit ("Gross Profit") which is the difference between revenue and direct costs of sales. These non-IFRS financial measurements do not have any standardized meaning as prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Accordingly, these performance measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Management uses EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA metrics to measure the profit trends of the business units and segments in the consolidated group since it eliminates the effects of financing decisions. Management uses Gross Profit to assess how efficiently the Company generates profit from the sale of goods or services. Certain investors, analysts and others utilize these non-IFRS financial metrics in assessing the Company's financial performance. These non-IFRS financial measurements have not been presented as an alternative to net income (loss) or any other financial measure of performance prescribed by IFRS. Reconciliation of the non-IFRS measures have been provided throughout the Company's MD&A, as applicable, filed under the Company's profile on www.sedarplus.ca.
SOURCE: Global Education Communities Corp
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