IDP Education’s share prices have nosedived after the international education services company reported steep profit and revenue declines, in a reflection of the sector’s global challenges.

IDP’s stock price plunged 27 per cent from its 19 August closing level of A$2.16 (£1.13), falling as low as A$1.57 the following day before recovering to A$1.72 when trading halted.

Shareholders had offloaded stock after financial results revealed that the company’s net profit had tumbled 74 per cent to A$13 million in 2025-26, down from A$51 million the previous year and A$134 million the year before that.

The company’s revenue fell A$96 million to A$795 million, reflecting losses of A$73 million from student placement activities and A$22 million in the language testing business.

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Commission earnings in IDP’s home base of Australia fell by 5 per cent, with 3,300 fewer students placed Down Under in 2025-26 than in the previous year. Placement income elsewhere plunged by almost one-third, with student numbers crashing by 42 per cent.

The company described the results as “resilient” and “in line with guidance”, amid policy settings that “continued to reduce global student mobility”. However, “disciplined cost control” had reduced its net overhead expenses by A$32 million, exceeding a A$25 million savings target.

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“Our focus this year has been to manage financial performance whilst progressing the multi-year transformation programme to reduce cost, simplify the business and position for future growth,” said CEO Tennealle O’Shannessy.

The company expects international student commencements in its core destination “markets” to fall by a further 20 to 30 per cent this financial year, according to its published financial results. The strategic focus is on “quality matching”, as students face “harder” choices about where to study.

“Universities are finding it more difficult to find the right students,” the document says. “Student behaviour is changing and they need trusted advice more than ever. Visa uncertainty leads to some students withdrawing or delaying applications. Students [are] deferring final decisions until outcomes are clearer.”

Meanwhile, the latest by international education chain Navitas has found that soaring visa rejection rates in Australia, Canada and the UK may be having unintended consequences. Eighty per cent of surveyed agents agreed, and 41 per cent strongly agreed, that the low acceptance rates “discourage some of the strongest potential students” from applying.

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Report author Jon Chew said policies to improve the integrity of student visa applicants “may be having the opposite effect, by putting off the very students they are trying to attract”.

Chew, Navitas’ chief insights officer, said “previous clampdowns” had tended to deter people who were attracted by work opportunities rather than education – and realised they had little chance of securing visas following policy changes – while “genuine” students had been more assured about their prospects.

“If the visa system was working well, then if you counted yourself as a good student, you should feel more confident applying,” Chew said. “In the current environment, it’s the opposite effect. When the refusal reasons are unclear…the good ones are more likely to say, ‘I don’t think I’ll apply’.

“The irony is, [people] applying for a visa primarily to work…probably don’t mind the odds. It’s still an expensive application fee, but the odds of [acceptance are] 50-50. That’s better than most other options available to them.”

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john.ross@timeshighereducation.com