Global education provider, Navitas, has announced a 13% increase in overall EBITDA in the last full year, due to sustained growth in its professional and English programmes.
The company’s year on year revenue increased from AUS$878.2m to AUS$980.3m while the 13% rise in EBITDA equated to AUS$163.1m in total.
“Our reputation in this area is strong, and continues to attract students”
The company’s professional and English programmes, which also include higher education and vocational qualifications, saw a 17% increase in EBITDA resulting in a total of AUS$29.5m.
Rod Jones, CEO of Navitas, is bullish that interest in programmes in this division will endure.
“As quality, well established providers, our reputation in this area is strong, and continues to attract students,” he told The PIE News.
Semester two enrolments in university programmes grew for North America – up by 18% in the US and 17% in Canada.
However, the company saw a 13% decrease in enrolments in the UK, saying government changes to visa refusal rate were partly to blame.
“The UK government’s focus on reducing non-EU student numbers is providing us with challenges in achieving growth in this region,” Jones explained.
“We are working hard to manage risk and keep our visa refusal rates low in the UK. We are also working closely with government, and in conjunction with our partners and other providers within the sector, to support positive legislative change.”
Contributing to further growth in this division, the company announced two university agreements with the University of Northampton and Florida Atlantic University.
“We are working hard to manage risk and keep our visa refusal rates low in the UK”
And under a new joint venture model where Navitas and the institution equally invest in pathway colleges, it announced new partnerships with the University of Canberra and the University of Western Sydney.
Elsewhere, the company reported that it will not renew contracts with the Sydney Institute of Business and Technology or Macquarie University which will “impact student enrolments and financial performance for the division” in 2016 and 2017.
According to Jones, however, the loss of earnings “will be made up by growth across the other two divisions [professional and English programmes and the SAE institute group, Navitas’s creative media education subsidiary] as well as additional growth across other university programmes colleges and regions”.
The SAE division alone recorded a 7% increase in EBITDA to AUS$26.1m, and a 23% increase in revenue this year.
For the coming year, Jones said the company’s growth strategy will focus on forging new partnerships in the US, as the demand for international education continues to increase.
“Globally, demand for high quality education remains very strong with the number of students predicted to travel overseas for education set to grow to eight million by 2025,” he said.