PITTSBURGH, Oct. 17, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Education Management Corporation (Nasdaq:EDMC) provided guidance on first and second quarter earnings today.
Robert B. Knutson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EDMC, stated, "We expect to post diluted earnings per share of between 5 and 6 cents for our first quarter ended September 30, 2001, compared to 4 cents in the prior year. Our first quarter performance was driven by strong revenue growth, which exceeded 25% year over year.
"Based on preliminary enrollment figures as of the start of our second fiscal quarter, we appear to be in good shape to meet consensus estimates for the quarter. We believe the September 11th attack may have taken approximately one percentage point from the enrollment-growth rate we otherwise would have achieved. Enrollment growth in the fall quarter, not including the students at International Fine Arts College which was acquired in September, should be at the lower end of the historical range we have achieved since we became publicly owned five years ago. We anticipate a solid increase in revenue this quarter based on the preliminary indications of fall enrollment levels."
EDMC expects to release first quarter earnings on October 25, 2001, and has scheduled a conference call and Webcast for 10:30 a.m. that day. For more information, please visit the Company's Website at www.edumgt.com.
EDMC is among the largest providers of proprietary post-secondary education in the United States, based on student enrollment and revenue. EDMC's current education institutions offer master's, bachelor's and associate's degree programs and non-degree programs in the areas of design, media arts, culinary arts and fashion. The Company has provided career-oriented education programs for over 35 years, and its Art Institutes have more than 125,000 graduates. For more information about The Art Institutes and The Art Institute Online, visit their Websites at www.artinstitutes.edu and www.aionline.edu.
This press release may include information that could constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements may involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results encompassed within the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include those matters disclosed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Past results of EDMC are not necessarily indicative of its future results. EDMC does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.