VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 15, 2024 / Global Education Communities Corp. ("GECC" or the "Company") (TSX:GEC)(OTCQX:GECSF) is pleased to report that it has filed on SEDAR+ its consolidated financial statements ("Q2 2024 Financial Statements") and related management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") for its second quarter of fiscal 2024 ended February 29, 2024 (collectively, the "Q2 Filing"). The following is selected financial information for the three months ended February 29, 2024 ("Q2 2024") and comparative results. Please refer to the Q2 Filing in its entirety, which is available under GECC's profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

The following table presents selected financial data from the Q2 Filing with comparisons. All figures are in thousands of Canadian dollars, except share and per share data, unless otherwise noted.

_{(1) See the section titled "Non-IFRS Financial Measures" for more information on each non-IFRS specified financial measure.}

_{(2) Percentage change amounts reflect the relative change in the individual balance with the impact (negative or positive) on net income.}

The following table compares selected financial position information as of February 29, 2024 and August 31, 2023:

The following table reconciles the non-IFRS measures in the first table above to the most directly comparable IFRS measure disclosed in the Q2 2024 Financial Statements, which is net income (loss).

^{(1) Interest income not associated with operations which is a component of interest and other income, net including in Note 12 to the Q2 2024 Financial Statements.}

^{(2) Includes amortization of agency fees which is a component of educational direct costs.}

^{(3) Gain from sale of GEC® Granville.}

^{(4) Included in finance costs within Note 11 to the Q2 2024 Financial Statements.}

"We continued our fiscal year with strong growth for the second quarter," said Toby Chu, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of GECC. "During the first six months, the Company's total revenue increased by 12% year-over-year, and our domestic and international education business showed a steady growth of 8% for both segments. Our recruitment and student advisory division, GEA, grew by 150% year-over-year. The robust domestic and international education sectors drove significant growth to our student housing revenue by 13% year-over-year, after factoring the drop in rental revenue with the sale of our hotel property in Q1, with rental revenue replaced by our GEC® King Edward property in full operation with near-zero vacancies.

"Overall, GECC's net income before income tax reached $6.377 million, an increase of $9.233 million from the same period last year. EBITDA increased to $16.651 million, an increase of 120% year-over-year. Net income for GECC shareholders in Q2 2024 was $0.04 per share."

Toby continued, "As interest rates have remained steady for the past seven months, we are seeing positive signals for potential rate decreases in the coming quarters of 2024, which is positive news for our real estate services division. Our ongoing effort is to increase our rental revenue by deploying GEC® Kingsway by mid-2024 with more available beds to the market, while decreasing our borrowing. During the past six months, we yielded a 6% decrease in liabilities, or $20.868 million, while achieving a 12% revenue growth."

About GECC:

GECC is one of Canada's largest education and student housing investment companies focused on the domestic and global education market since 1994. GECC operates business and language colleges, student-centric rental apartments, recruitment centres and corporate offices at 41 locations in Canada and abroad. Its education subsidiaries include Sprott Shaw College Corp. (established in 1903), Sprott Shaw Language College, Vancouver International College Career Campus, and CIBT School of Business & Technology Corp. GECC offers over 150 educational programs in healthcare, business management, e-commerce, cyber-security, hotel management, emergency paramedic, and language training through these schools. In fiscal 2023, GECC serviced over 14,277 domestic and international students through its educational, rental housing and recruitment subsidiaries.

GECC owns Global Education City Holdings Inc. ("GECH"), an investment holding and development company focused on education-related real estate, such as student-centric rental apartments and education super-centres. In fiscal 2023, GECH operated fifteen properties under the GEC® brand in Metro Vancouver and provided accommodation services to 92 partner schools serving 3,200 students from 71 countries. The total portfolio and development budget under the GEC® brand exceeds $1.2 billion.

GECC also owns Global Education Alliance Inc. ("GEA") and Irix Design Group Inc. ("IRIX"). GEA recruits international students for elite kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities in North America. Irix is a leading design and advertising company based in Vancouver, Canada. Visit us online and watch our corporate video at www.GEChq.com.

For more information, contact:

Toby Chu
Chairman, President & CEO
Global Education Communities Corp.

Investor Relations Contact: 1-604-871-9909 extension 319 or | Email: info@GEChq.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information (the "forward-looking statements") about GECC and its plans. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, the potential for interest rates to decrease, and plans to increase rental revenue by deploying GEC® Kingsway by mid-2024 while decreasing borrowing . The forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors (collectively, the "Risks") that could cause the Company's actual results or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by forward-looking statements. The Risks include, without limitation, national and global economic factors, customary risks of the construction industry, unexpected delays or requirements of the applicable municipalities, and the other risk factors identified in the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the financial year ended August 31, 2023. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions and expectations of the Company's management at the time they are made, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions or expectations, or other circumstances should change, except as may be required by law.

NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES
The Company has included certain non-IFRS financial measures in this news release including: (a) Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization ("EBITDA"); (b) Adjusted EBITDA which is EBITDA adjusted for the gain (loss) on sale of property and equipment, gain (loss) on Change in fair value of the Company's investment properties, the provision for expected credit losses on development and other assets, the impairment of development assets, and the gain (loss) on Change in fair value of derivative instruments; and (c) Gross Profit ("Gross Profit") which is the difference between revenue and direct costs of sales. These non-IFRS financial measurements do not have any standardized meaning as prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Accordingly, these performance measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Management uses EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA metrics to measure the profit trends of the business units and segments in the consolidated group since it eliminates the effects of financing decisions. Management uses Gross Profit to assess how efficiently the Company generates profit from the sale of goods or services. Certain investors, analysts and others utilize these non-IFRS financial metrics in assessing the Company's financial performance. These non-IFRS financial measurements have not been presented as an alternative to net income (loss) or any other financial measure of performance prescribed by IFRS. Reconciliation of the non-IFRS measures have been provided throughout the Company's MD&A, as applicable, filed under the Company's profile on www.sedarplus.ca.

SOURCE: Global Education Communities Corp.