Laureate Education, Inc.

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Q3 2024 Laureate Education, Inc. Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. You will need to press star 1-1 on your telephone to enter the queue. You will then hear an automated message advising that your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 1-1 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the call over to Adam Morris, Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance. Please go ahead.

Good morning, and thank you for joining us on today's call to discuss Laureate Education's third quarter 2024 results. Joining me on the call today are Aleph Sarkanson, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Rick Buskirk, Chief Financial Officer. Earnings Press Release is available on the Investor Relations section of our website at laureate.net. We have also posted a supplementary presentation to the website, which we will be referring to during today's call. The call is being webcast, and a complete recording will be available after the call. I'd like to remind you that some of the information we are providing today, including but not limited to our financial and operational guidance, constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may change at any time, and therefore, our actual results may differ materially from those we expected. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations are disclosed in our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, our 10-Q filed earlier this morning, as well as other filings made with the SEC. In addition, all forward-looking statements are based on current expectations as of the date of this conference call, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Additionally, non-GAAP measures that we discuss, including, and among others, adjusted EBITDA and its related margin, total debt net of cash, and free cash flow are also detailed and reconciled to their GAAP counterparts in our press release or supplementary presentations. Let me now turn the call over to Ilis.

Thank you, Adam, and good morning, everyone. Today, we are pleased to report strong financial performance for the third quarter, along with the results of our recently completed intake cycles. Third quarter revenue was $369 million, and adjusted EBITDA was $91 million. Both metrics were ahead of the guidance we provided in early August. Favorable results were driven by Peru, in which new enrollments increased by 12% year-over-year for the third quarter. We expect that this growth rate will increase to an impressive 16% year-over-year upon completion of the intake cycle. The macro conditions in Peru continue to improve. Consumer spending has increased, supported by stable inflation, lower interest rates, and rising wages. Economists are now forecasting GDP growth of approximately 3 percent for 2024, a significant turnaround since the 2023 recession. In Mexico, the presidential election took place this past June. In the run-up to the election, increased government spending and stimulus helped bolster demand for our first quarter new enrollment intake cycle, which was up 7 percent. Following the election, there was a pullback in economic activity that occurred during the third quarter intake. Despite these conditions, we still delivered solid results with new enrollment growth of 4% year over year for the third quarter. As the Scheinbaum administration settles in, we are closely observing its early handling of the constitutional reforms, as well as key pillars of President Scheinbaum's policy agenda. We are cautiously encouraged by the early indications of Scheinbaum's policy priorities, which include enhanced fiscal discipline, modernization of industrial policies, investment in infrastructure development, and public-private collaboration, all of which we believe are important elements to create sustainable growth for the Mexican economy. The completion of our September and October intake cycles provides us with strong visibility for the remainder of the year. Today, we are pleased to announce an increase in our constant currency outlook for 2024 at the midpoint by $15 million for revenues and $6 million for adjusted EBITDA. The improved operating performance is expected to be largely offset by currency headwinds from a weaker Mexican peso, allowing us to essentially maintain our full-year outlook on an as-reported US dollar basis. Our balance sheet remains exceptionally strong, and we are well-positioned to continue delivering on our commitment to return excess capital to shareholders. Following the completion of the $100 million stock repurchase program announced in February of this year, we introduced a new $100 million authorization program in September. Assuming completion of this program, we will have returned nearly $3 billion of capital to shareholders since 2019 through a combination of share repurchases, cash distributions, and cash dividends. That concludes my prepared remarks. And I'm now handing the call over to Rick for the financial overview for the quarter as well as 2024 outlook. Rick?