Mr. Toby Chu reports

GECC REPORTS FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2023

Global Education Communities Corp. has filed on SEDAR+ its annual audited consolidated financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2023. This news release should be read in conjunction with the 2023 financial report in its entirety. To review the 2023 financial report, please visit the company's profile at SEDAR+.

The attached table presents selected financial data from the 2023 financial report with comparisons. All figures are in thousands of dollars, except per-share data, unless otherwise noted.

"We are pleased to report that GECC continued to demonstrate strong growth in fiscal 2023 as highlighted by our total revenues, which increased 7 per cent year over year to over $78-million," said Toby Chu, president, chief executive officer and chairman of Global Education. "Furthermore, we saw a significant increase in both our international education and rental revenues, highlighting the high enrolment of international students and the adjustments made to the rental prices of our business and improved occupancy rates. Over all, we were able to drive our gross profit, resulting in an [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] of roughly $20-million during this fiscal year."

Mr. Toby added: "With an increasing supply of international students moving to Vancouver in addition to the city's low vacancy rate, we aim to continue scaling our real estate portfolio for the growing tenant population. Furthermore, the federal government of Canada has proposed new legislation to remove the goods and services tax on the construction of new rental apartments, which, if implemented, will provide further incentives to us in connection with our current projects and enable us to achieve substantial cost savings. Moving forward, we will also evaluate new opportunities to drive further growth in our business."

Key financial highlights in fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022:

• Total revenue for fiscal 2023 was $78.60-million, an increase of 7 per cent year over year.
• Rental revenue from the GECH housing division was $21.13-million, an increase of 14 per cent year over year.
• International education revenue from SSLC/VIC was $13,934,000, an increase of 37 per cent year over year.
• EBITDA was $19,976,000, an increase of $59,124,000 year over year.

Key operational highlights in fiscal 2023:

• Higher international student enrolment: International student enrolment in language and career programs has recovered well after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Significant real estate and student housing revenue growth: Improved occupancy rate, higher average rental rates and the start of operations of GEC King Edward in the fourth quarter ended Aug. 31, 2023, contributed to an overall increase in rental revenue in fiscal 2023 while the removal of travel restrictions during the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2022, and pent-up demand from travellers and students contributed to the increase in hotel property revenues.
• GEC King Edward: Construction for the GEC King Edward project was completed in June, 2023, and it entered its first operational period in fourth quarter 2023.

Material events occurring after Aug. 31, 2023, include:

• GEC Kingsway: In September, 2023, the company announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to deploy its new business segment master lease partnership program. The MOU details the business terms to master lease approximately 80,000 gross buildable square feet of market rental apartments from a local developer, to be named GEC Kingsway. The launch date for GEC Kingsway is expected to be in May, 2024.
• GEC Viva: In September, 2023, the company signed a five-year lease extension agreement for GEC Viva. The new lease agreement expires in December, 2028, and the company has the option to extend the lease for a further five years.
• GEC Granville: In October, 2023, the company signed a purchase and sale agreement to sell the GEC Granville property for $70-million. The transaction was completed on Nov. 28, 2023.
• GEC Oakridge: GEC Oakridge received its development permit on July 6, 2023. The building permit process is in progress. The project is a planned 18-storey concrete residential rental tower that will accommodate 475 occupants, which will add to the company's current portfolio and increase rental and development fee revenues.
• GEC Langara: In November, 2022, the company formed a new limited partnership associated with a new project called GEC Langara, with plans to purchase a property near the Langara-49th Canada Line station.

About Global Education Communities Corp.

Global Education is one of Canada's largest education and student housing investment companies focused on the domestic and global education market since 1994. Global Education 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. (established in 1903), Sprott Shaw Language College, Vancouver International College career campus and CIBT School of Business & Technology Corp. Global Education 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 serviced over 13,000 domestic and international students through its educational, rental housing and recruitment subsidiaries.

Global Education owns Global Education City Holdings Inc., 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 also owns Global Education Alliance Inc. and Irix Design Group Inc. 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.

We seek Safe Harbor.