Private education provider Raffles Education Corporation says for the first quarter ending ended 30 September 2010 (1QFY2011), it posted a net profit after tax of $6.2 million, a 56% decline from $14.1 million in 1QFY2010. This came on the back of an 18% fall in revenue of to $42.2 million from $51.6 million.

Raffles Education says the decrease in revenue was mainly due to a drop in the overall number of students in China taking the Gao Kao, foreign exchange translation loss on Renminbi-denominated revenue, and higher operating expenses from the group’s enlarged operations.

Cash and cash equivalents as at 30 September 2010 were $95.7 million with a net gearing ratio of 0.09 times.

Raffles Education says it will continue to build on its strong fundamentals including building depth at its existing colleges, expanding its college network, value creation of Oriental University City, strengthening its academic capability and strategic acquisitions.

Oriental University City in Langfang, Hebei Province, provides education services to nine colleges with a total student population of over 27,000.

Raffles Education now operates 38 colleges with 28,700 students in 35 cities across 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.