We are confident to strengthen our PAT in coming years: Sanjeev Mansotra

In an exclusive interview with Ashwini Kunder of myiris.com, Sanjeev Mansotra, chairman & Global CEO, CORE Education & Technologies says,” We have made some significant progress in India and with a healthy mix of domestic and international projects, we are confident to strengthen our PAT in the coming years.”

Kindly explain in brief about CORE Education & Technologies. What is your outlook for the education sector?

CORE Education & Technologies is an end-to-end, technology-enabled education solutions provider that aims to transform the education spectrum that covers Pre-K, K-12, Higher Education and Vocational Education. The outlook for the education sector in India for the coming years is very positive. Government is opening up to private participation and investment in the country’s primary as well as higher education market. The private education sector is estimated to reach USD 70 billion by 2013 and USD 115 billion by 2018, enrollments in K-12 growing to 351 million, requiring an additional 34 million seats by 2018. This equals USD 80 billion at USD 2,400 a seat. The estimated Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is of 14%.

How do you see your CORE Education’s earning performance for FY13?

With the new initiatives and strategic partnership in the emerging markets around the world, we are expecting a sustained performance for the coming year and are also confident of meeting our growth objectives. We have made some significant progress in India and with a healthy mix of domestic and international projects, we are confident to strengthen our PAT in the coming years.

Last quarter CORE Education posted strong revenue growth. So do you think it will be sustainable going forward in FY13?

CORE’s scalable business model has been driven by the Company’s ability to leverage its on-site/ offshore model in the midst of integrating various acquired businesses. In addition, the Company’s track record of successful student outcomes has translated into a highly stable and recurring revenue base.

What new tools/software CORE has implemented or using in schools and vocational training centres?

CORE will bring modern 3D immersive learning by simulating real life experience for complex subjects on topics that are difficult for students to grasp, learn, experience and then apply.

CORE, along with Texas Instruments, has created a first of its kind revolutionary integrated educational solution for math and science teaching called STEMPower. Based on TI-Nspire technology, STEMPower integrates real-world data, simulations, pictorial aids and multiple representations such as graphs, spreadsheets, equations and questions to encourage students to make connections, explore concepts and be active learners, thus empowering them to be successful.

CORE Education has forayed into Middle East couple of months back. Could you update us on the development on venture plans?

CORE has recently announced its first international foray in higher education by entering Middle East. This venture is in partnership with the Government of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) & Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi (BIT), a premier engineering institute of India.

The cloud computing concept is on a high rage in India these days. State the performance of the cloud solution industry in India and what is the outlook for the same?

In India, the focus is on providing our Advanced Technology solutions where the end customers are schools within the purview of state governments. Our existing participation with the state governments through our Advanced Technology solutions would pave the way for the company to pitch its Cloud Computing services in the future.

What are your expansion and capex plans for the coming years?

We do intend to focus on our Advanced Technologies business in emerging markets and will continue to make investments in product development to augment our growth.

What is your message to the shareholders and investors of the company?

We have been performing consistently, and all our verticals have showed healthy performance on both absolute as well as margin.CORE is strategically aligning its business model and is focused on targeting new geographies and verticals and the management is pro-actively working towards ensuring that the company is future ready.