Laureate Education Inc (NASDAQ: LAUR) has posted better than expected results in the fourth quarter of FY 17. The company has reported the net income of $200.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2017, as compared to $38.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, primarily attributable to income tax benefits resulting from the U.S. tax reform law and, to a lesser extent, interest expense reductions after the IPO and debt refinancing transactions completed in 2017. LAUR has ended 2017 with $468.7 million of cash on hand and $801.7 million in total liquidity, including the company’s undrawn revolver capacity.

LAUR in the fourth quarter of FY 17 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $0.48, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $0.33 by $0.15. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 7 percent to $1.26 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 17, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $1.23 billion. On an organic constant currency basis, revenue has increased by 5%. In 4Q 2017, the operating income increased by 6% to $181.5 million. The adjusted EBITDA has increased 25% to $354.7 million and up 9% on an organic constant currency basis.

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Moreover, in December 2016 and January 2017, LAUR has issued shares of Series A Preferred Stock for total gross proceeds of $400.0 million. On February 1st, 2018, the company has amended the Senior Secured Credit Facility to reduce the interest rate on the 2024 Term Loan by 100 basis points

Additionally, Laureate Education has reaffirmed the guidance for FY 18. For FY 18, LAUR expects the total enrollments to be in the range of 955,000 to 959,000. The revenues are expected to be in the range of $3,885 to $3,920 million. The adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $763 to $770 million. In FY 18, the capex spending will be approximately 7% of revenue. The cash interest expense will be of approximately $250 million, reflecting the improvements in the capital structure. The free cash flow is expected to be approximately $100 million for 2018. However, the reported earnings per share in 2018 will be affected by an approximately $57 million non-cash charge to earnings per share in the first quarter of 2018 related to accounting for the non-cash beneficial redemption and conversion features due to the terms of the Series A Preferred Stock.