NCLE CEO: Profit decline linked to new revenue recognition method

NCLE CEO Mohammad Alkhudair says the company has not increased tuition fees

Mohammad Alkhudair, CEO of The National Company for Learning & Education (NCLE), said first-quarter enrollment ending October 2025 reached 35,100 students, with no increase in tuition fees.

In an interview with Argaam, he said the drop in first-quarter net profit was due to a new revenue recognition method, while operating revenue rose 13% and net profit grew 3% year-on-year (YoY).

He explained that tuition revenue and margins vary with the number of days recognized each quarter, whereas operating costs are fully charged to the quarter regardless of the number of days recognized. Other operational and financial factors also impact results.

The current quarter’s revenue was recognized over 79 days out of 314 in the 2025/2026 academic year, compared to 85 out of 321 days in the same quarter of 2024/2025, reflecting differences in start dates and academic-year length, which limited the impact of student growth on revenue.

Alkhudair stressed that the change affects only the timing of quarterly revenue and does not alter annual results, as total tuition revenue for the full academic year remains unchanged.

NCLE’s net profit fell to SAR 35.5 million in the first quarter ending October 2025, down from SAR 42.9 million a year earlier, according to data available with Argaam.