Corinthian College Inc. has stated that its net income for the fourth quarter has suffered shrinkage by 90% owing to decline in the number of student enrolment. Its shares nosedived to a 12-year low this Tuesday morning after its revenue fell drastically short of the estimate.

The drop in profits owing to drop in enrolment rate has been attributed to an increment in the college’s tuition fees and stringent measures. It has suffered due to implication of new government rules and federal regulations and its shares have dropped by about 70% in 2011 leading to speculations that it may be taken over by private equity firms.

Statistics report that there has been a 27% fall in the new student enrolment for the 4^th quarter from the previous year while the total enrolment has suffered a setback of around 15%.

This has led to fall in the net income to $3.4 million (5 percent share) from $33.9 million (38 percent share).

The company is predicting a loss of 2-4 cents per share for the current quarter and revenue of around $414-424 million.  The analysts were hopeful of an adjusted net income of 14 cents per share and revenue of around $428 million. However, for the year ending June 2012, it is expecting to earn approx 30-35 cents per share.