Taaleem’s FY 2025/26 earnings fall 22% as expansion costs offset enrollment growth

Taaleem’s net income fell 22% y-o-y to AED 127.2 mn in FY 2025/26, while operating revenue rose 15.6% to a record AED 1.3 bn, according to the company’s financials (pdf). Higher financing and depreciation costs tied to its expansion program outweighed stronger enrollment across its premium schools, Taaleem said in its earnings release (pdf). Most of the decline came during the summer: Taaleem's net income was up 9% at AED 283.2 mn after nine months, as we reported in July.

Premium schools remained the growth engine, with enrollment climbing 11.1% to 18.6k students, slightly outpacing a 10.5% increase in capacity, and average tuition fees rising 3.7%. Newer campuses still have room to fill, with 61% of available premium-school seats concentrated at DBS Mira, DBS Jumeira, and Raha International School Khalifa City.

KFG took the bigger hit from the conflict: Kids First Group (KFG) contributed an AED 4.3 mn share of net loss following purchase-price adjustments as nursery enrollment fell 6.6% and utilization dropped to 72.6%. The segment was more exposed because remote learning is harder for early-years education and parents pay monthly — the same pressure point we flagged in July. Enrollment has since continued to recover after reopening.

The next wave of capacity is already landing: Harrow Dubai opened at the end of August with around 400 registered students, ahead of its roughly 370-student business plan — after Taaleem told us in August it had hit its enrollment target despite the regional disruption. Harrow Abu Dhabi is due in the 2027/28 academic year, followed by DBS Ghaf Woods in 2028/29. Taaleem is also putting AED 1.5-2 bn toward growth, with five to six potential M&A targets lined up for KFG, as we’ve previously reported.

There’s growth headroom without another major buildout too: Dubai Schools PPP enrollment jumped 35.1% to 4.5k students, but utilization remains at just 46.3% across its 9.7k seats — leaving plenty of capacity to fill before Taaleem needs to add more.