CIRA Education’s normalized net income up 91% in 9M FY 2025/26

CIRA Education’s normalized net income jumped 91% y-o-y to EGP 1.18 bn in the first nine months of FY 2025/26 as operating net income rose and finance costs fell, according to the company’s latest earnings release (pdf). Revenues rose 35% y-o-y to EGP 4.51 bn during the period, while normalized EBITDA increased 33% to EGP 2.40 bn.

Higher education continued to power growth. The segment’s revenue rose 40% y-o-y to EGP 3.10 bn as enrollment increased 39% to 36k students, lifting seat utilization to 88% from 67% on continued expansion at Badr University campuses and Saxony Egypt University. K-12 revenue grew 26% to EGP 1.41 bn, supported by a larger school network and higher tuition fees, although startup costs at three newly opened schools weighed on profitability.

Lower finance costs amplified the earnings growth. Net finance costs fell 21% y-o-y as Egypt’s interest-rate cycle eased, while operating profit rose 41%. This helped normalized net income margin expand to 26.3% from 18.7%.

The expansion slate: The company remains on track to launch the Advanced Sci-Tech International Hub (ASIH) in Damietta in the 2027/28 academic year and Seneca in East Cairo a year later. ASIH is planned to house three universities, 19 schools, and 91 fields of study, with capacity for around 30k students, while Seneca will introduce Canadian programs including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and engineering. The Swiss-accredited Lemania International School is slated for the 2027/28 academic year, and CIRA is working with Ontario Tech University on postgraduate engineering programs at Badr, with longer-term plans for an Ontario Tech branch campus in East Cairo. CIRA also recently signed an agreement to establish a Germany-based center for Saxony Egypt University students — its first international footprint.

Qalaa’s debt story is improving

Qalaa closed 4Q with a sharp operating rebound — consolidated EBITDA jumped 168% y-o-y to EGP 8.8 bn, while revenue slipped 2% y-o-y to EGP 34.9 bn, according to the company’s earnings release (pdf). The group still posted a EGP 46 mn net loss for the quarter, against a net income of EGP 420.7 mn a year earlier, as interest provisions tied to its debt settlement continued to weigh on the bottom line.

Remove the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC) and the picture changes. Revenue excluding ERC grew 27% y-o-y to EGP 17.7 bn, and EBITDA rose 28% to EGP 3.7bn, with every other subsidiary posting solid growth. The headline drag is almost entirely a scheduled, once-every-four-years, 32-day ERC maintenance shutdown in 2Q.

The annual picture: FY 2025 revenue fell 9% to EGP 135.5 bn, EBITDA edged up 1% to EGP 21.7 bn, and Qalaa swung to a EGP 1.2 bn net loss from EGP 6.4 bn in net income a year earlier. Qalaa says the loss would have been a EGP 918.8 mn income without the EGP 2.17 bn interest provision tied to its 2024 debt settlement with local banks — a charge management expects to reverse as a one-off EGP 7.2 bn gain once settlement terms are met, starting 2030.

What’s next: Qalaa is preparing five subsidiary IPOs over the coming two years, with NPM expected to list in 2026. Management also plans to use additional surplus cash to increase stakes in selected subsidiaries, repurchase Qalaa shares, fund expansion across the portfolio, and exercise its call options over Taqa Arabia shares.