For-profit education provider DeVry Inc. posted better-than-expected quarterly results, as enrollments rose at its DeVry university and online courses.
For the fourth quarter ended June 30, the company posted earnings of $71.6 million, or 99 cents a share, compared with earnings of $37 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier.
The company, which runs Keller Graduate School of Management, Chamberlain College of Nursing, Ross University and the Carrington Colleges Group, reported revenue of $506.7 million, a rise of 28 percent.
Total student enrollments at DeVry university were up 22 percent to 68,290, while the total number of online undergraduate and graduate course takers rose 24 percent to 70,088.
Analysts on average were expecting the company to earn 82 cents a share, on revenue of $487.2 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Shares of the Downers Grove-based company, which have fallen about 25 percent in the last three months, were down about 1 percent at $44.75 in extended trade. They closed at $45.31 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.
The U.S. education sector is plagued by fears of increased government scrutiny, with the department of education expected to provide more data on its proposed regulations on gainful employment on Aug. 13. Gainful employment is a key measure that aims to ensure that students do not graduate with an unwieldy debt burden.
