Education provider Taaleem recorded a 13.9% y-o-y decline in net income to AED 71.3 mn in 1Q FY 25/26, according to its financials (pdf) and a separate earnings release (pdf). The decline was primarily driven by higher financial costs related to funding recent expansion initiatives and the impact of a positive one-off transaction in the same period last year.

Operating revenues, however, rose 20.9% y-o-y to AED 369.9 mn, with the premium schools segment leading the surge, accounting for 86.2% of the total as enrollment jumped 12.8% y-o-y to almost 19k students. The growth was supported by a 10.5% increase in capacity, adding 2.3k new seats, primarily through the launch of DBS Mira and the expansion of DBS EH (DBS Islands). Taaleem’s recently acquired 95% stake in Kids First contributed AED 2.4 mn to its bottom line.

Expansion is the name of the game going forward, with construction on Harrow Dubai already underway, as the school is slated to open in September, followed by Harrow Abu Dhabi in the following academic year. Taaleem is also planning to open a new premium school in Ghaf Woods.

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