PHOENIX — Universal Technical Institute’s (UTI) Chairman Robert Hartman, President and CEO Kimberly McWaters and CFO Jennifer Haslip are conducting meetings with investors this week to highlight the company’s growth plan and business outlook.
UTI, a leading provider of post-secondary education for students interested in pursuing technical careers in automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle and marine industries, recently completed its initial public offering on December 17, 2003, raising approximately $60 million in net proceeds to the company.
“We believe that we are the largest educational services provider of our kind,” said McWaters. “Our average enrollment of undergraduate students topped 10,500 for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003 and grew at a compounded annual rate of 21.7 percent between fiscal years 2000 and 2003. For the same period, annual revenues increased at a compounded rate of nearly 29 percent with fiscal 2003 revenues approaching $200 million. Most importantly, we have significantly improved our operating margins from 10.5 percent for fiscal 2000 to 18.4 percent for fiscal 2003.”
Among the items detailed in its strategic plan, UTI said that it intends to open new school campuses to extend the company’s national presence. UTI recently announced the opening of a new campus near Exton, Pa.
UTI said it also plans to increase recruitment and marketing efforts to drive student enrollment. The company plans to drive further student enrollment growth through a two-pronged recruitment strategy. Currently, the company employs 128 field representatives who make more than 9,000 high school visits each year to over 400,000 student prospects. Although more than 60 percent of its students come directly out of high school, the company also specifically targets adult students through national advertising campaigns on television, in magazines or over the Internet, which is supported by an inbound telephone sales force of 66 representatives.
Top performers in the UTI undergraduate programs have the opportunity to continue their education in the advanced, manufacturer-sponsored training programs. While UIT currently works with large automotive companies such as Mercedes-Benz USA, it plans to establish new industry relationships and deepen existing partnerships. UTI will also expand program offerings through additional course offerings, manufacturer electives and advanced level training opportunities.
“We believe that current demographic trends will drive further growth of our business,” said McWaters. “On the demand front, there are a number of independent factors driving the unprecedented need for skilled technicians. Markets for technicians specializing in automobiles, trucks, motorcycles and marine equipment continue to expand and are estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to grow 10 to 20 percent per year through 2010. Longer average lives for vehicles and displacement of the ‘do-it-yourself’ market means more cars in need of repair. Increasing complexity of new technologies is not only making home repair virtually impossible, but also increasing skills obsolescence amongst existing veteran technicians. Combined with trends of an aging workforce, technician losses through retirement and attrition are substantial and outpacing new technician entries.”
“These compelling supply and demand dynamics strongly support our belief to focus our growth efforts in our current end markets. As technician demand continues to dwarf the available supply, our knowledge and experience gained from more than 35 years of operations give us confidence that we can successfully implement our business plan,” concluded McWaters.
For more information, visit: www.uticorp.com.
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