CIBT Reports Financial Results for Third Quarter of Fiscal 2020

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 14, 2020 / CIBT Education Group Inc. (TSX:MBA)(OTCQX:MBAIF) (“CIBT” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that it has filed on SEDAR its consolidated financial statements and related management’s discussion and analysis for its third quarter of fiscal 2020 ended May 31, 2020 (collectively, the “Q3 Filing”). The following is selected financial information for the nine months ended May 31, 2020 (“Q3 2020”) and comparative results. Please refer to the Q3 Filing in its entirety, which is available under CIBT’s profile at www.sedar.com.

All figures are in thousands of Canadian dollars except share and per share data unless otherwise noted.

The following reconciles the net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (non-IFRS):

1. The application of IFRS 16 results in higher EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. See the section titled Adoption of New Accounting Standards in the Q3 2020 MD&A for the impact.
2. For the nine months ended May 31, 2019, previously reported EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA were $10,964 and $2,864, respectively. Previous presentation of interest expense did not include accretion of deferred finance fees. Previous presentation of depreciation and amortization did not include amortization of agency fee intangibles.

Please refer to the note at the end of this news release concerning non-IFRS financial measures.

Highlights of the nine-month period ended May 31, 2020, compared to the comparative prior year period, are as follows:

• Revenue from Sprott Shaw College increased 8% from $25.8M to $27.88M due to the higher registration of Canadian students returning to school.
• Revenues from the language school divisions, which is international students centric, declined due to the border-lock downs triggered by COVID-19.
• Rental revenues decreased marginally by 4% from $8.53M to $8.15M due to COVID-19 impacts on student and visitor traffic arriving in Vancouver.
• Net income fell slightly from $5.69M to $5.54M.
• EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization) increased by 10% from $13.08M to $14.38M.
• Total assets increased by 16% from $389.67M to $451.62M in the nine months ended May 31, 2020.
• Earnings per share on a diluted basis increased from $0.03 to $0.07 per share, a 133% increase.
• Book value per share increased by 17% from $0.66 at May 31, 2019 to $0.77 at May 31, 2020.

“During the nine months ended May 31, 2020, we were pleased to see that our largest education subsidiary saw revenues increase while earnings before inter-company charges also increased by 94%, from net income of $2.15M to $4.17M,” commented Toby Chu, Chairman, President and CEO of CIBT Education Group Inc. “Due to the COVID-19 impact on tourism, visitor traffic for the one hotel in our portfolio decreased, while our student housing business maintained a steady occupancy. The pandemic caused our real-estate operating segment to have a small decline in revenue from $8.53M to $8.15M while net income before inter-company charges increased by 76% from $3.87M to $6.82M.

“Overall, we are cautiously optimistic about a steady recovery as domestic and international students return from the summer break, and our rental revenue will become our fastest revenue growth once again entering into fiscal 2021. Our businesses overall continue to hold steady, and we are optimistic about the Company’s overall outlook for the remainder of this fiscal year for several reasons:

• Our properties, including GEC® Viva, GEC® Granville, GEC® Burnaby Heights, and GEC® Pearson, remain fully operational, and most locations are filling up at a steady pace as Metro Vancouver enters into the recovery phase of the COVID-19 outbreak.
• A pending acquisition expected to close in Q1 2021 will add nearly 250 beds to our portfolio immediately after closing, boosting our rental revenues for fiscal 2021.
• We have created special packages for returning students to Metro Vancouver who are required to isolate for two weeks. This new package is very well accepted by our 70+ education partners so that they can resolve the two weeks of isolation housing needs for their students. Post isolation, students may seamlessly transfer from our short-term stay property to our long-term stay rental apartments for the remaining terms of their study in Vancouver.
• Many educational institutions have partnered with our new initiative to ensure the safe re-opening of their schools while entrusting GEC® properties to accommodate their students.
• Many home-stay families and most public university dormitories have announced plans to defer student move-in until late fall or January 2021, causing a significant reduction shortage to the already low inventory of student housing stock.
• According to educations.com, a Sweden based research firm specializing in the international education sector, Canada is ranked the Best Country for International Education in 2020, the second time our nation ranked in the number one position following the U.S News ranking in 2017(https://www.educations.com/top-10-lists/top-10-places-to-study-abroad-global-18096).
• According to Consultancy.uk, part of the Consultancy.org group, an Ernst & Young report published in the United Kingdom predicts that Canada will most likely become the most popular country for international students due to Canada’s achievement in controlling the pandemic outbreaks (https://www.consultancy.uk/news/24965/pandemic-to-redistribute-international-student-flows).
• According to BC’s Ministry of Health, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Metro Vancouver as of June 30, 2020, was 982, with 819 recovered. Comparing these numbers to the top ten most popular destinations for international education, which include Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris and Sydney, Vancouver has the lowest quantity of infected COVID-19 cases. Vancouver can be considered one of the safest cities with respect to COVID-19 among the top ten most popular cities for international education based on this data https://governmentofbc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/11bd9b0303c64373b5680df29e5b5914

“In addition, CIBT enrolls over five thousand domestic students within our colleges and seven thousand students from 50+ countries. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia is generally under control in Metro Vancouver, according to British Columbia’s Ministry of Health, we are experiencing a high volume of domestic and international student inquiries from Eastern Canada and the United States wishing to transfer their studies to Metro Vancouver.

“Education is traditionally known as a counter-cyclical business that grows faster when the economy is facing challenges,” continued Toby Chu. “CIBT is well positioned with an established education platform to capitalize on the current market conditions. While the enrollment for many colleges and universities are holding steady, our student-centric rental apartments are providing the much-needed accommodation service to these school partners.

“Our success is attributable to over 27 years of experience in the education sector and seven years of enhancement and experience in the education-related real estate business. We have learned from the various economic downturns since 1994, and the SARS outbreak in 2003. By refining our model and leveraging our pre-existing education and real estate infrastructure, we are confident that once the pandemic passes, we will be in an even stronger position to capitalize on Canada’s growing demand for student housing and education.”

About CIBT Education Group:

CIBT Education Group Inc. is one of the largest education, and student housing investment companies in Canada focused on the global education market since 1994. Listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and U.S OTCQX International, CIBT owns business and language colleges, student housing properties, recruitment centres and corporate offices at 45 locations in Canada and abroad. The total annual enrollment for the group exceeds 12,000 students. Its education providers include Sprott Shaw College (established in 1903), Sprott Shaw Language College, Vancouver International College and CIBT School of Business. Through these schools, CIBT offers business and management programs in healthcare, hotel management, language training, and over 150 career, language and vocational programs. CIBT owns Global Education City Holdings Inc. (“Global Education”), an investment holding and development Company focused on developing education related real estate such as student hotels, serviced apartments and education centres. The total portfolio and development budget of projects under Global Education’s GEC® brand is over C$1 billion. The various GEC® properties provide accommodations to over 1,500 students and other tenants. CIBT also owns Global Education Alliance (“GEA”) and Irix Design Group (“Irix Design”). GEA recruits international students on behalf of many elite kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities in North America. Irix Design is a leading design and advertising company based in Vancouver, Canada. Visit us online and watch our corporate video at www.cibt.net.

Toby Chu
Chairman, President & CEO
CIBT Education Group Inc.

Investor Relations Contact: 1-604-871-9909 extension 318 or | Email: info@cibt.net

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information (the “forward-looking statements”) about CIBT Education Group Inc. and its plans. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, the statement as to the expect effects of an acquisition scheduled to close in Q1 2021, the statement that there will be a swift recovery from the economic effects of COVID-19 and the statement as to the anticipation that CIBT will emerge from the COVID-19 crisis in an even stronger position to capitalize on Canada’s growing demand for student housing and education. The forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause CIBT’s actual results or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the number of students continuing their education despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the number of new enrolments continuing to increase, that there won’t be substantial delays in obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals, that due diligence on the acquisition will be satisfactorily completed and the ability of the applicable project limited partnership to raise funds for the acquisition on acceptable terms. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions and expectations of CIBT’s management at the time they are made, and CIBT 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 MEASUREMENTS

The Company has included non-IFRS performance measures throughout this press release, including (a) Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (“EBITDA”); (b) Adjusted EBITDA which is EBITDA adjusted for the gain (loss) on change in fair value of the Company investment properties and the gain (loss) on change in fair value of derivative instruments; and (c) Book value per common share (“BVPS”) which is calculated as Equity attributable to CIBT Education Group Inc. shareholders divided by total outstanding common shares. These non-IFRS financial measurements do not have any standardized meaning as prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards (“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 metrics to measure the profit trends of the business units and segments in the consolidated group since it eliminates the effects of financing decisions. 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 or any other financial measure of performance prescribed by IFRS. Reconciliation of non-IFRS measures has been provided throughout the Company’s MD&A, as applicable, filed under the Company’s profile on www.SEDAR.COM.

SOURCE: CIBT Education Group Inc.

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