Lower enrollment and the effects of hurricane Katrina hit Corinthian Colleges Inc. in the past quarter, the company said on Friday.
The Santa Ana-based operator of training colleges said its net income in the quarter ended Sept. 30 fell 49% to $7.3 million, versus a year ago, on a 5% growth in sales to $236.3 million.
The company’s schools offer degrees in healthcare, business, criminal justice, technology and other fields. Its total student population in the quarter was 68,262 versus 70,500 a year ago.
The company is looking for ways to boost enrollment, said Jack D. Massimino, Corinthian’s chief executive, in a release.
“These initiatives include improvements in hiring, managing and training admissions representatives, increased focus on under-performing schools, and more efficient lead processing systems and procedures,” Massimino said.
The company warned that it’s profit would fall short of expectations in the quarter ending Dec. 31.
The company has negotiated several regulatory inquiries in the past year.
Late last year, the Department of Education restored Corinthian’s ability to receive advanced financial aid funding after looking into problems at its San Jose campus.
Then in April, Corinthian said the Securities and Exchange Commission had completed its review of the company’s 2004 financial report. Corinthian said it agreed to the SEC’s request to include more disclosure in how it values some intangible assets.
And in August, Corinthian said it was restating revenue for the year ended June 2001 through the quarter ended March 31. The college operator said the restatement was necessary after it changed its methods for tracking revenue for some diploma programs.
There have been some challenges beyond its control. Corinthian’s Bryman College campus in New Orleans was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina, which caused flooding on lower floors and destroyed an air conditioning cooling tower.
Shares of Corinthian were down 3% on Friday.
