FAR EASTERN University, Inc. (FEU) has returned to profitability in the first quarter of its fiscal year, driven by the higher volume of enrollees and revenues from a property sale of one of its subsidiaries.
A regulatory filing on Wednesday showed the listed university had an attributable net profit of P32.98 million in the quarter ending August, swinging from an attributable net loss of P8.37 million in the same period last year.
Revenues reached P614.06 million as of Aug. 31, 40% higher from the same period last year, largely due to the P37.99-million revenues generated by its subsidiary from selling condominium units.
“Total revenues increased 40%, resulting mainly from educational revenues due to increase in enrollment for the first semester of the current Academic Year (AY). Also, Fern Realty Corp. (FRC) recognized an income from a sale of its investment property during the period,” it said.
Educational revenues, which added P565.95 million to the revenue pie, increased 31.6% from last year due to the bigger system-wide enrollment which hit a student population of 43,334 in the first semester of the AY from about 39,900 last year.
FEU said the increase in students is due to the bigger volume of freshmen graduating from senior high school. “This current AY marks the entry of the 2nd batch of senior high school graduates to college; last AY, the 2nd year level in tertiary has very few students due to the K-12,” it said.
Operating expenses during the period also jumped 23% to P575.53 million, coming mostly from a certain non-recurring local tax expense, higher depreciation on continuous fixed asset additions and an increase in related operational costs due to the bigger student population.
“The consolidated financial position and the consolidated results of operations of the Group are expected to remain stable until year-end. With the improvement in tertiary enrollment,… completion of various facilities construction and improvements, and a continuous effort to attain operational cost efficiency, the Group is confident that it will maintain steady operations and meet its budget for the year,” it said. — Denise A. Valdez
