Higher education outfit Taaleem reported EGP 129.6 mn in net income during 1H FY2020-2021, rising 17.5% y-o-y from the year before, according to the company’s first earnings release (pdf) as a publicly traded company. Taaleem's revenues also rose 17.1% y-o-y during the six-month period to EGP 317.1 mn, breaking a record high registered a year ago. The company’s top-line growth was underpinned by “double-digit growth in student intake” at its Nahda University in Beni Suef (NUB), which CEO Mohamed El Rashidi says “reflects strong and increasing demand for admission to the university, and particularly the faculty of medicine launched in the previous year.” The company’s financial year runs September-August.

Looking ahead, Taaleem’s priorities for the rest of 2021 include setting up its second institution, Badya University in Palm Hills Developments’ West Cairo Badya development, with student intake slated for September 2022. Taaleem is also expanding NUB and expects to begin construction on its new teaching hospital before the end of the current academic year.

Taaleem became the EGX’s first IPO of 2021 earlier this month: Taaleem’s debut on the bourse on 7 April saw its shares pop 6% on the first day of trading after seeing strong demand from retail and institutional investors alike.