CIRA reports growing revenue, lower bottomline in 3Q 2021-2022: EGX-listed education outfit CIRA reported EGP 149.5 mn in net income in 3Q 2021-2022, down 30% from the same period last year, according to an earnings release (pdf). Revenues during the March-May quarter rose slightly to EGP 520.1 mn, up from EGP 511.2 mn in 3Q 2020-2021. Profits fell 3% to EGP 448.3 mn during the first nine months of the year, while revenues increased 15% to EGP 1.46 bn on the back of higher enrollment rates across its K-12 and higher education segments. CIRA attributed the drop in net income to increased financing costs and debt incurred as a result of the group’s continued expansion plans, as well as a 31% y-o-y increase in operating costs such as rising salaries and wages.

Strong financial performance despite rising inflationary pressure + global turbulence: “We are without doubt going through a challenging period given recent market turbulence and uncertainty on both the global and local level. However, we believe that CIRA has the right fundamentals and risk controls in place to weather current economic challenges and deliver on its growth objectives, as we have done year over year, demonstrating the strong potential and conservative nature of CIRA’s business model,” said CEO Mohamed El Kalla.

Looking ahead: CIRA plans to kick off shortly its EGP 2 bn future flow securitization program to finance investments over the next three years, El Kalla noted. These expansions include adding two new nurseries to its portfolio, after launching KidzGround in Suez earlier this year. CIRA is also expecting to break ground on its Cairo Saxony University “by early September of this year with plans to launch the university’s first phase by September 2023.”