Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Laureate Education Incorporated First Quarter 2023 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. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Adam Morse, Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance. Please begin.

Good morning and thank you for joining us on today's call to discuss Laureate Education's first quarter of 2023 results. Joining me on the call are Eilif Serck-Hanssen, President and Chief Executive Officer, Rick Buskirk, Chief Financial Officer. Our earnings press release is available on the Investor Relations section of our website at laureate.net. We've also posted a supplementary presentation to the website, which we'll 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're 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 disposed 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 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 presentation. Let me now turn the call over to Eilif.

Thank you, Adam, and good morning everyone. We recently completed our enrollment intake for the first quarter, which includes the primary intake cycle for Peru and a smaller intake for Mexico. 2023 is off to very good start. New enrollments increased 17% year-over-year and total enrollment were up 8%, continuing the growth momentum that we have been experiencing over the past two years. In addition to favorable volume growth, pricing for the intake cycle was also in-line with our expectations. We are very encouraged by the strength of the first quarter intake, despite the headwinds from the macroeconomic conditions. It highlights that the consumers in Mexico and Peru are prioritizing higher education when allocating the discretionary spending, even the life-changing impact of such education. Today, we are announcing an upward revision to our full-year 2023 guidance. Notably, we have increased the lower end of the range for revenue and EBITDA on a constant currency basis following the strong Q1 results, as well as increasing our overall guidance to reflect more favorable foreign currency rate. Our strategic decision to focus exclusively on the high growth markets of Mexico and Peru continued to deliver strong results for Laureate. Specifically, we are benefiting from three structural tailwinds. First, the steady increase in participation rates, which drives robust growth in demand for higher education in Mexico and Peru. The enabler for this increased demand is a significant wage premiums earned by people with higher education as well as the affordable cost to get such degree. Secondly, the private sector is critical for the advancement of higher education, given limited government resources. On a combined basis, over 50% of the university fees in Mexico and Peru are provided by the private sector. And the private sector accounts for the majority of the growth in the…

Thank you, Eilif. As a reminder, campus based higher education is a seasonal business. The first and third quarters represent our two largest intake periods, which account for more than 80% of our total new enrollment activity for the year. From a P&L perspective, both are seasonally low periods as classes are out of session for most of those months. In contrast, the second and fourth quarters are not large enrollment intake periods but generate higher revenue and adjusted EBITDA for the year. Let's start with page 12, which highlights our operating and financial performance for the first quarter. During the intake cycle just completed, we continued to see resiliency in demand and pricing despite the challenging macroeconomic conditions. New enrollment and total enrollment increased 17% and 8%, respectively, when compared to the prior year quarter, with strong growth in both markets and across all five brands. In addition to strong volume growth, pricing for the intake was in line with our expectations. Specifically, pricing recognized in both markets was in line to cover our realized cost of inflation on our expense structure. Let's now move on to the financial results. Revenue in the seasonally low first quarter was $251 million, and adjusted EBITDA was $33 million. Both metrics were ahead of the guidance we provided three months ago. Revenue and adjusted EBITDA outperformance was driven by higher new enrollment volumes as well as some timing items. On an organic constant currency basis, revenue for the first quarter was up 12% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was up 3% due to revenue flow-through and cost efficiencies, partially offset by return to campus expenses and fixed costs during a largely out-of-session quarter. Let me now provide some additional color on the performance of Mexico and Peru, starting with page…

Thank you, Rick. I continue to be very encouraged by the trends in our business. Laureate is experiencing positive growth momentum across both markets and in all of our brands. We are well positioned to capitalize on the growth opportunities in Mexico and Peru through leveraging our leading brands and strong digital capabilities and through our focus on academic quality and student outcomes. Operator, that completes our prepared remarks, and we're now happy to take any questions from the participants.

Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Our first question will come from the line of Jeffrey Silber with BMO Capital Markets. Your line is now open.

Thank you so much. My first question is actually a two-parter. You've been posting very impressive strong new enrollment growth. Can you share with us some data even at a high level how the market is growing? And I'm assuming you're gaining share. And if that's the case, what do you attribute that to?

Hey, Jeff, this is Eilif. Good morning and I apologize to everyone for static on the line during our prepared remarks. We have now switched lines. So hopefully, you can hear us better now. In terms of your question for market growth, the market is growing because of the increasing stock of 18 to 24 year old as well as the increasing participation rate, i.e., the percentage of 18 to 24 year old that are participating in higher education increasing. That drives 2% to 3% growth in the market. Then the second big driver for our growth is online expansion, where Laureate is absolutely the leader in digital education in both Mexico and Peru. And that creates new market opportunities for us. We're really expanding the market because we are serving customers that wouldn't otherwise have access to quality higher education without that mode of delivery. And then I would say, to your point, we are also taking share in the traditional undergraduate segment. We have superior brands in Mexico and Peru, both in the premium and traditional space as well as the value brand segment. And we are also the innovation leader in terms of launching new product and product expansions, which are enabling us to take market share.

Okay. That's helpful. And then on online, I know you've got a goal to get to 50% to 60%. Roughly, where are you and how long you think it will take you to get to that goal?

We are within that -- all of our universities are within that 40% to 60%, and we are averaging just below the midpoint.

Okay, that's helpful. I'll jump back in the queue. Thanks so much.

Thanks Jeff.

Thank you. [Operator Instructions] At this time I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to end the conference call. Thank you for your participation today. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a wonderful day.

Thank you all.