Mr. Toby Chu reports

GLOBAL EDUCATION COMMUNITIES CORP. REPORTS 2023 THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS

Global Education Communities Corp. has filed on SEDAR its consolidated financial statements (Q3 2023 financial statements) and related management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) for its third quarter of fiscal 2023 ended May 31, 2023 (collectively, the Q3 filing). The following is selected financial information for the nine months ended May 31, 2023 (YTD 2023) and comparative results (YTD 2022). Please refer to the Q3 filing in its entirety, which is available under the company's profile at SEDAR.

The attached table presents selected financial data from the Q3 filing with comparisons. All figures are in thousands of Canadian dollars, except share and per-share data, unless otherwise noted.

The next attached table reconciles non-IFRS (international financial reporting standards) measures to the most directly comparable IFRS measure disclosed in the Q3 2023 financial statements, which is net income (loss).

"We are pleased to report that our total year to date 2023 revenue as of May 31, 2023, has increased by 5 per cent to $55.36-million as compared to the same period last year," said Toby Chu, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the company. "The year to date 2023 revenue of our international education services divisions in Canada and abroad saw substantial increases year over year of 29 per cent. Correspondingly, our student housing revenue also saw significant growth. Most GEC-branded residential properties are fully booked, while rental rates per square foot reached the highest levels. As a result, the company's student-housing rental revenue for the nine months grew by 14 per cent to $14,013,000 compared to $12,257,000 over the same period last year. Our year to date 2023 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation amortization) as of May 31, 2023, reached $10,704,000, and our total assets increased by 4 per cent to nearly $500-million.

"Between March 3, 2022, and July 12, 2023, the Bank of Canada prime rate has increased 167 per cent, from 2.7 per cent to 7.2 per cent, which has impacted the financial and credit markets and increased the finance costs of our real estate services division," continued Mr. Chu. "To offset the additional financing costs, our student housing division has adjusted its rental rates several times this year, which led to a $1.76-million increase in our rental revenue despite the company not adding new operating properties during YTD 2023."

Mr. Chu added: "Furthermore, our international educational revenue continues to increase year over year, including our student recruitment revenue, which increased substantially by 26 per cent, highlighting a solid trajectory of growth for the international education sector and boosting our student housing revenue simultaneously. Our real estate division, GEC Living, rolled out its eighth GEC-branded property, GEC King Edward, on June 1, 2023. Students have started moving into this property, and we reached an occupancy rate of 75 per cent by mid-July. The property is fully booked as of September, 2023, for the upcoming academic year.

"Early this year, the IRCC (Immigration Canada) reported the international student population in Canada reached a new record of 807,750 students as of December, 2022, an increase of 30 per cent from 617,000 students in the previous year, elevating Canada to the top three positions in the world with the highest number of international students.

"According to a news article referencing the July, 2023, liv.rent report, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby have been ranked as Canada's top five most expensive cities. The article also highlighted the increase in demand for rental housing and the target overnight rate hike, which could lead to a significant rise in average rental rates in British Columbia.

"Consistent with the article's view, we believe the interest rate hike has a cascading effect on the rental market because high-interest rates discourage home buyers from entering the market, which slows down rental project developments, and depletes the available inventory in the development pipeline, causing a significant shortage in the rental inventory. As the demands continue, prompted by migrations to Metro Vancouver, new immigrants arriving in Canada and the high volume of international students entering Canada, the diminishing rental supply will inevitably push rental rates to unprecedented levels."

About Global Education Communities Corp.

Global Education Communities is one of Canada's largest education and student housing investment companies focused on the domestic and global education market since 1994. Global Education Communities owns business and language colleges, student-centric rental apartments, recruitment centres, and corporate offices at 41 locations in Canada and abroad. Its education subsidiaries include Sprott Shaw College Corp. (SSCC) (established in 1903), Sprott Shaw Language College (SSLC), Vancouver International College Career Campus (VIC), and CIBT School of Business & Technology Corp. (CIBT China). Global Education Communities offers over 150 educational programs in health care, business management, e-commerce, cybersecurity, hotel management and language training through these schools. In 2022, Global Education Communities serviced over 13,000 domestic and international students through its educational, rental housing and recruitment subsidiaries.

Global Education Communities owns Global Education City Holdings Inc. (GECH), an investment holding and development company focused on education-related real estate such as student-centric rental apartments, a hotel and education supercentres. Under the GEC brand, GECH provides accommodation services to 92 schools in Metro Vancouver, serving 3,000 students from 71 countries. The total portfolio and development budget under the GEC brand is nearly $1.3-billion.

Global Education Communities also owns Global Education Alliance Inc. (GEA) and Irix Design Group Inc. (IRIX). GEA recruits international students for elite kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities in North America. Irix Design is a leading design and advertising company based in Vancouver, Canada.

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