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Laureate Education posts large third-quarter loss

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Laureate Education posted a loss of $103.5 million in the quarter that ended Sept. 30.

That compares to a profit of $80.9 million in the same quarter of 2016, a gain driven by the sale of its French institutions for $155.2 million. Per-share results swung from a gain of 66 cents to a loss on $1.02 in the July-to-September period.

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The Baltimore-based owner and operator of for-profit higher educational institutions reported that revenue swelled 5.7 percent to $983.4 million in the latest quarter as new and total enrollments grew 3 percent each.

“We are pleased to report favorable enrollment growth in many of our key markets during our intake for the period, including particularly strong results in Brazil,” Doug Becker, Laureate’s founder, chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

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Becker is stepping aside as CEO on Jan. 1.

Laureate reported some disruption as a result of the Mexico earthquake, which resulted in the deferral of some revenue as well as repair expenses.

The company also said it expects to earn $290 million to $300 million for the full year on revenue of just over $4.3 billion, the lower end of its previous projection.

“We continue to make good progress on our key strategic initiatives, looking to leverage scale and technology to further improve student experiences and drive stronger returns for our shareholders,” Eilif Serck-Hanssen, Laureate’s president and incoming CEO, said in a statement.

Laureate also announced that its bringing in a new chief financial officer. Jean-Jacques Charhon, most recently CFO at Purdue Pharma, will join Laureate on Jan. 1.


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