Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc.’s relatively small fourth-quarter profit appears to signal a move toward stability at the for-profit school operator.
Corinthian was the eighth-largest publicly traded company in Orange County last year, revenue of nearly $2 billion.
The company has about 95,000 students and about 100 campuses in the U.S. and Canada. It offers degrees in healthcare, information technology and other areas.
Corinthian saw net income of $1.8 million in the fourth quarter. It posted a $163.7 million loss a year earlier.
A 10% drop in enrollment drove revenue down 14% to $415.5 million for the fourth quarter. Corin- thian slashed its expenses by $246 million over the same period.
Corinthian’s shares jumped more than 36% on its fourth-quarter report, to a market value of about $350 million.
The company’s market value reached $1.6 billion nearly two years ago, before increased scrutiny over student loans at for-profit school operators led to stricter federal lending standards that pinched enrollments.
Chairman and Chief Executive Jack Massimino attributed the recent improvements to a “gradual stabilization” on enrollment levels and “continued strong growth at Everest University Online.”
