New Oriental Announces Results for the First Fiscal Quarter Ended August 31, 2018 and Adoption of up to US$200 Million Share Repurchase Program
BEIJING, Oct. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (the "Company" or "New Oriental") (NYSE: EDU), the largest provider of private educational services in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first fiscal quarter ended August 31, 2018, which is the first quarter of New Oriental's fiscal year 2019.
Financial Highlights for the First Fiscal Quarter Ended August 31, 2018
-- Total net revenues increased by 30.1% year-over-year to US$859.8 million
for the first fiscal quarter of 2019.
-- Operating income increased by 0.2% year-over-year to US$161.3 million
for the first fiscal quarter of 2019.
-- Net income attributable to New Oriental decreased by 22.2%
year-over-year to US$123.2 million for the first fiscal quarter of 2019.
Key Financial Results
(in thousands US$, except per ADS(1) data)
1Q FY2019
1Q FY2018
% of change
--- ---
Net revenues 859,846 661,165 30.1%
Operating income 161,335 161,077 0.2%
Non-GAAP operating income (2)(3) 175,255 164,203 6.7%
Net income attributable to New Oriental 123,232 158,393 -22.2%
Non-GAAP net income attributable to New Oriental 184,136 161,519 14.0%
(2)(3)
Net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental - 0.78 1.00 -22.5%
basic
Net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental - 0.77 1.00 -22.6%
diluted
Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to New 1.16 1.02 13.6%
Oriental - basic(3)(4)
Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to New 1.16 1.02 13.4%
Oriental - diluted(3)(4)
(1) Each ADS represents one common share.
(2) GAAP represents Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America.
(3) New Oriental provides net income attributable to New Oriental, operating income and net income per ADS attributable to New
Oriental on a non-GAAP basis that excludes share-based compensation expenses and loss from fair value change of long-term
investments to provide supplemental information regarding its operating performance. For more information on these non-GAAP
financial measures, please see the section captioned "About Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and the tables captioned
"Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to the Most Comparable GAAP Measures" set forth at the end of this release.
(4) The Non-GAAP net income per ADS is computed using Non-GAAP net income and the same number of shares and ADSs used in
GAAP basic and diluted EPS calculation.
Operating Highlights for the First Fiscal Quarter Ended August 31, 2018
-- Total student enrollments in academic subjects tutoring and test
preparation courses increased by 13.2% year-over-year to approximately
1,735,300 for the first fiscal quarter of 2019.
-- The total number of schools and learning centers was 1,100 as of August
31, 2018, an increase of 201 compared to 899 as of August 31, 2017, and
an increase of 19 compared to 1,081 as of May 31, 2018. The total number
of schools was 88 as of August 31, 2018.
Michael Yu, New Oriental's Executive Chairman, commented, "We are very pleased to start fiscal year 2019 with a remarkable year-over-year acceleration in our top line growth rate at 30.1%, beating that of the same quarter of the previous year. This strong top-line growth was largely driven by the solid increase in student enrollments in the recent two quarters, which had a steady year-over-year increase of approximately 28% in the two quarters ended August 31, 2018. Our key growth driver, K-12 after-school tutoring business, continued its strong growth and achieved approximately 49% increase in revenue. Furthermore, our U-Can middle and high school all-subjects after-school tutoring business delivered a revenue growth of approximately 49%, while the POP Kids program grew by approximately 48% year-over-year."
Chenggang Zhou, New Oriental's Chief Executive Officer, added, "Guided by our well-proven "Optimize the Market" Strategy, we continued to deepen our market penetration in existing markets, by building out our capacity in cities where we see rapid growth and strong profitability. This quarter, we added a net of 18 learning centers in existing cities, and opened a new training school in the city of Yiwu. Altogether, the total square meters of classroom area by the end of this quarter increased approximately 34% year-over-year and 3% quarter-over-quarter. Furthermore, this quarter we completed a successful summer promotion campaign by offering low-cost trial courses for multiple subjects in 39 cities, mainly targeting students before they start the first year at secondary school. Trial course enrollments during the period reached 762,000, an increase of 37.5% year-over-year, while student retention also improved year-over-year. Meanwhile, we continue to leverage our online and offline integrated standardized teaching system in our core offline business including K-12 tutoring and overseas test preparation businesses."
Stephen Zhihui Yang, New Oriental's Chief Financial Officer, commented, "As a result of the incremental cost pressure from our larger scale summer promotion launched this summer, our non-GAAP operating margin for our offline language training and test preparation business decreased by approximately 110 basis points year-over-year. At the same time, we are deeply encouraged to see constant year-over-year utilization rate of facilities in this quarter, which is a clear indication of the healthy ramping up of new facilities we built in the last fiscal year. As for our offline language training and test preparation business, we will maintain our expansion plan with a goal of adding approximately 20-25% in overall capacity for the full fiscal year 2019, through the opening of new learning centers in existing cities and rolling out of dual-teacher model schools in new cities. All the while, we will continue to sustain the healthy balance between our strong growth momentum and cost control, with continued efforts in improving the utilization rate of our facilities. For our Koolearn.com pure online educational platform, we will continue making investments in new initiatives in the K-12 after-school tutoring business to capture the huge market opportunities in remote areas in China. We are confident that our robust ecosystem integrating both offline and online education will deliver sustainable value for our customers and shareholders over the long term."
Adoption of Share Repurchase Program
On October 22, 2018, New Oriental's board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to US$200 million of the Company's common shares during the period from October 29, 2018 through May 31, 2019.
This share repurchase program authorizes the Company to purchase its ADSs or common shares from time to time on the open market at prevailing market prices, in negotiated transactions off the market, in block trades, pursuant to a 10b5-1 plan or other legally permissible ways in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. The timing and extent of any purchases will depend upon market conditions, the trading price of ADSs and other factors. New Oriental's board of directors will review the share repurchase program periodically and may authorize adjustment to its terms and size accordingly. New Oriental plans to fund any share repurchases made under this program from the Company's available cash balance.
Financial Results for the First Fiscal Quarter Ended August 31, 2018
Net Revenues
For the first fiscal quarter of 2019, New Oriental reported net revenues of US$859.8 million, representing a 30.1% increase year-over-year. Net revenues from educational programs and services for the first fiscal quarter were US$797.5 million, representing a 31.9% increase year-over-year. The growth was mainly driven by increases in student enrollments in academic subjects tutoring and test preparation courses in the recent two quarters. Further to an exceptional 44.9% year-over-year enrollment growth in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2018, student enrollment continued to grow by 13.2% year-over-year to approximately 1,735,300 in the first fiscal quarter of 2019. The combined enrollment growth for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2018 and the first fiscal quarter of 2019 reached 28.4%.
Operating Cost and Expenses
Operating cost and expenses for the quarter were US$700.4 million, representing a 40.0% increase year-over-year. Non-GAAP operating cost and expenses for the quarter, which exclude share-based compensation expenses, were US$686.4 million, representing a 38.1% increase year-over-year.
-- Cost of revenues increased by 36.0% year-over-year to US$367.4 million,
primarily due to increases in teachers' compensation for more teaching
hours and rental cost for increased number of schools and learning
centers in operation.
-- Selling and marketing expenses increased by 34.4% year-over-year to
US$99.3million, primarily due to increases in brand promotion expenses
and selling and marketing staff's compensation.
-- General and administrative expenses for the quarter increased by 49.8%
year-over-year to US$233.7 million. Non-GAAP general and administrative
expenses, which exclude share-based compensation expenses, were US$219.7
million, representing a 43.7% increase year-over-year, primarily due to
increased headcount as the Company expanded its network of schools and
learning centers, as well as increases in R&D expenses and human
resources expenses related to the development of the Company's online
and offline integrated education ecosystem.
Total share-based compensation expenses, which were allocated to related operating cost and expenses, increased by 345.3% to US$13.9 million in the first fiscal quarter of 2019. The substantial increase was primarily due to the grants of a total of 1.5 million restricted share units of the Company to employees and directors in October 2017 with graded vesting over three years.
Operating Income and Operating Margin
Operating income for the quarter was US$161.3 million, representing a 0.2% increase year-over-year. Non-GAAP operating income was US$175.3 million, representing a 6.7% increase year-over-year.
Operating margin for the quarter was 18.8%, compared to 24.4% in the same period of the prior fiscal year. Non-GAAP operating margin, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, for the quarter was 20.4%, compared to 24.8% in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
Loss from Fair Value Change of Long-Term Investments
Loss from fair value change of long term investments for the quarter was US$47.0 million in accordance with the new financial instruments accounting standard adopted on June 1, 2018.
Net Income and EPS
Net income attributable to New Oriental for the quarter was US$123.2 million, representing a 22.2% decrease from the same period of the prior fiscal year. Basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to New Oriental were US$0.78 and US$0.77, respectively.
Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP EPS
Non-GAAP net income attributable to New Oriental for the quarter was US$184.1 million, representing a 14.0% increase from the same period of the prior fiscal year. Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to New Oriental were US$1.16 and US$1.16, respectively.
Cash Flow
Net operating cash flow for the first fiscal quarter of 2019 was approximately US$231.5 million. Capital expenditures for the quarter were US$62.4 million, which were primarily attributable to the opening of 65 facilities and renovations at existing learning centers.
Balance Sheet
As of August 31, 2018, New Oriental had cash and cash equivalents of US$833.1 million, as compared to US$983.3 million as of May 31, 2018. In addition, the Company had US$100.8 million in term deposits, US$1,698.0 million in short-term investments.
New Oriental's deferred revenue balance, which is cash collected from registered students for courses and recognized proportionally as revenue as the instructions are delivered, at the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2019 was US$1,146.7 million, an increase of 23.3% as compared to US$930.0 million at the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2018. The Company adopted Revenue from Contracts with Customers ("Topic 606") starting June 1, 2018, and as a result, as of August 31, 2018, US$66.0 million of deferred revenue was reclassified to accrued expenses and other current liabilities, representing estimated amounts of tuition collected that may be refunded in the future if students withdraw from a course for any remaining classes.
New Accounting Standards
"New Revenue Accounting Standard"
On June 1, 2018, the Company adopted Revenue from Contracts with Customers ("Topic 606"), applying the modified retrospective method to all contracts that were not completed as of June 1, 2018. Results for reporting periods beginning June 1, 2018 are presented under Topic 606, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for the prior periods. The Company assessed variable consideration included in its overseas study consulting service over the expected service period. The cumulative effect of US$1.1 million was recorded as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings upon the initial adoption.
"New Financial Instruments Accounting Standard"
The Company adopted the new financial instruments accounting standard on June 1, 2018. Upon the adoption, the equity securities with readily determinable fair value are stated at fair value with changes recorded through the income statements, which could vary significantly from quarter to quarter. Approximately US$97.9 million of accumulated other comprehensive income for the available-for-sale equity securities with readily determinable fair value that existed as of May 31, 2018 was reclassified to the opening balance of retained earnings. A loss of approximately US$47.0 million from the fair value changes to the equity securities with readily determinable fair value was recorded in other income during the first fiscal quarter ended August 31, 2018.
Outlook for Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2019
New Oriental expects total net revenues in the second quarter of fiscal year 2019 (September 1, 2018 to November 30, 2018) to be in the range of US$568.5 million to US$586.4 million, representing year-over-year growth in the range of 22% to 26%.
If not taking into consideration the impact of potential change in exchange rate between Renminbi and the U.S. Dollar, the projected revenue growth rate is expected to be in the range of 27% to 31% for the second quarter of fiscal year 2019.
This forecast reflects New Oriental's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.
Conference Call Information
New Oriental's management will host an earnings conference call at 8 AM on October 23, 2018, U.S. Eastern Time (8 PM on October 23, 2018, Beijing/Hong Kong Time).
Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:
US: +1-845-675-0437
Hong Kong: +852-3018-6771
UK: +44-20-3621-4779
Passcode: 6497058
Please dial in 10 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin and provide the passcode to join the call.
A replay of the conference call may be accessed by phone at the following number until October 31, 2018:
International: +61 2 8199 0299
Passcode: 6497058
Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available at http://investor.neworiental.org.
About New Oriental
New Oriental is the largest provider of private educational services in China based on the number of program offerings, total student enrollments and geographic presence. New Oriental offers a wide range of educational programs, services and products consisting primarily of language training and test preparation, primary and secondary school education, online education, content development and distribution, overseas study consulting services, pre-school education and study tour. New Oriental's ADSs, each of which represents one common share, currently trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "EDU."
For more information about New Oriental, please visit http://www.neworiental.org/english/.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the outlook for the second quarter of fiscal year 2019, quotations from management in this announcement, as well as New Oriental's strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. New Oriental may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual reports to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about New Oriental's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company's ability to attract students without a significant decrease in course fees; the Company's ability to continue to hire, train and retain qualified teachers; the Company's ability to maintain and enhance its "New Oriental" brand; the Company's ability to effectively and efficiently manage the expansion of its school network and successfully execute its growth strategy; the outcome of ongoing, or any future, litigation or arbitration, including those relating to copyright and other intellectual property rights; competition in the private education sector in China; changes in the Company's revenues and certain cost or expense items as a percentage of the Company's revenues; the expected growth of the Chinese private education market; Chinese governmental policies relating to private educational services and providers of such services; health epidemics and other outbreaks in China; and general economic conditions in China. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New Oriental does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and New Oriental undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
About Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement New Oriental's consolidated financial results presented in accordance with GAAP, New Oriental uses the following measures defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the SEC: net income excluding share-based compensation expenses and loss from fair value change of long-term investments, operating income excluding share-based compensation expenses, operating costs and expenses excluding share-based compensation expenses, general and administrative expenses excluding share-based compensation expenses, operating margin excluding share-based compensation expenses, and basic and diluted net income per ADS and per share excluding share-based compensation expenses and loss from fair value change of long-term investments. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the tables captioned "Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures" set forth at the end of this release.
New Oriental believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity by excluding share-based compensation expenses and loss from fair value change of long-term investments that may not be indicative of its operating performance from a cash perspective. New Oriental believes that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing its performance and when planning and forecasting future periods. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management's internal comparisons to New Oriental's historical performance and liquidity. New Oriental computes its non-GAAP financial measures using the same consistent method from quarter to quarter. New Oriental believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors in allowing for greater transparency with respect to supplemental information used by management in its financial and operational decision making. A limitation of using these non-GAAP measures is that they exclude share-based compensation charge and loss from fair value change of long-term investments that have been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant recurring expense in the Company's business. Management compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from each non-GAAP measure. The accompanying tables have more details on the reconciliations between GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures.
Contacts
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
Ms. Kathleen Wang
FTI Consulting
Tel: +852-3768-4546
Email: kathleen.wang@fticonsulting.com
Ms. Sisi Zhao
New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc.
Tel: +86-10-6260-5568
Email: zhaosisi@xdf.cn
NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands)
As of August 31 As of May 31
2018 2018
---
(Unaudited) (Audited)
USD
USD
---
ASSETS:
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents 833,132 983,319
Restricted cash 47 47
Term deposits 100,840 107,741
Short-term investments 1,698,019 1,623,763
Accounts receivable, net 4,116 3,179
Inventory, net 36,321 40,175
Prepaid expenses and other current assets, net 218,517 182,095
Amounts due from related parties, current 14,568 1,595
Total current assets 2,905,560 2,941,914
Restricted cash, non-current 3,162 3,399
Property and equipment, net 474,149 449,592
Land use rights, net 13,255 3,785
Amounts due from related parties, non-current 2,093 2,226
Long-term deposits 38,943 40,099
Long-term prepaid rents 114 191
Intangible assets, net 7,596 8,544
Goodwill, net 29,851 31,729
Long-term investments, net 417,955 433,333
Deferred tax assets, non-current, net 44,547 43,323
Other non-current assets 24,024 19,577
3,961,249 3,977,712
Total assets
LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable (including accounts payable of the consolidated variable interest
entities without recourse to New Oriental of US$39,279 and US$35,345 as of May 31,
2018 and August 31, 2018, respectively) 35,795 39,889
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities (including accrued expenses and other
current liabilities of the consolidated variable interest entities without recourse
to New Oriental of US$335,955 and US$411,576 as of May 31, 2018 and August 31, 2018,
respectively) 461,478 373,537
Income taxes payable (including income tax payable of the consolidated variable
interest entities without recourse to New Oriental of US$54,844 and US$80,833 as of
May 31, 2018 and August 31, 2018, respectively) 86,233 67,233
Amounts due to related parties (including amounts due to related parties of the
consolidated variable interest entities without recourse to New Oriental of US$30
and US$532 as of May 31, 2018 and August 31, 2018, respectively) 532 30
Deferred revenue (including deferred revenue of the consolidated variable interest
entities without recourse to New Oriental of US$1,244,748 and US$1,143,161 as of May
31, 2018 and August 31, 2018, respectively) 1,146,747 1,270,195
1,730,785 1,750,884
Total current liabilities
Deferred tax liabilities, non-current (including deferred tax liabilities of the
consolidated variable interest entities without recourse to New Oriental of
US$13,782 and US$13,895 as of May 31, 2018 and August 31, 2018, respectively) 13,326 12,133
Total liabilities 1,744,111 1,763,017
Mezzanine equity
Redeemable non-controlling interests 206,624 206,624
Equity
New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. shareholders' equity 1,995,955 1,991,589
Non-controlling interests 14,559 16,482
Total equity 2,010,514 2,008,071
Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and equity 3,961,249 3,977,712
NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands except for per share and per ADS amounts)
For the Three Months Ended August 31
---
2018 2017
---
(Unaudited) (Unaudited)
USD
USD
Net revenues 859,846 661,165
---
Operating cost and expenses (note 1)
Cost of revenues 367,399 270,194
Selling and marketing 99,301 73,903
General and
administrative 233,662 155,991
---
Total operating cost
and expenses 700,362 500,088
Gain on disposal of a
subsidiary 1,851
Operating income 161,335 161,077
---
Loss from fair value
change of long-term
investments (46,984)
Other income, net 33,509 24,933
Provision for income
taxes (25,684) (26,878)
(Loss) Income from
equity method
investments (1,053) 25
Net income 121,123 159,157
===
Add: Net loss
(income)
attributable to non-
controlling
interests 2,109 (764)
---
Net income
attributable to New
Oriental Education &
Technology Group
Inc.'s shareholders 123,232 158,393
---
Net income per common share
-Basic 0.78 1.00
-Diluted 0.77 1.00
Net income per ADS (note 2)
-Basic 0.78 1.00
-Diluted 0.77 1.00
NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES TO THE MOST COMPARABLE GAAP MEASURES
(In thousands except for per share and per ADS amounts)
For the Three Months Ended
August 31
2018 2017
---
(Unaudited) (Unaudited)
USD
USD
---
General and
administrative
expenses 233,662 155,991
Less: Share-
based
compensation
expenses in
general and
administrative
expenses 13,920 3,126
---
Non-GAAP general
and
administrative
expenses 219,742 152,865
---
Total operating
cost and
expenses 700,362 500,088
Less: Share-
based
compensation
expenses 13,920 3,126
---
Non-GAAP
operating cost
and expenses 686,442 496,962
---
Operating income 161,335 161,077
Add: Share-based
compensation
expenses 13,920 3,126
Non-GAAP
operating income 175,255 164,203
---
Operating margin 18.8% 24.4%
Non-GAAP
operating margin 20.4% 24.8%
Net income
attributable to
New Oriental 123,232 158,393
Add: Share-based
compensation
expenses 13,920 3,126
Add: Loss from
fair value
change of long-
term investments 46,984
Non-GAAP net
income
attributable to
New Oriental 184,136 161,519
---
Net income per
ADS attributable
to New Oriental-
Basic (note 2) 0.78 1.00
Net income per
ADS attributable
to New Oriental-
Diluted (note
2) 0.77 1.00
Non-GAAP net
income per ADS
attributable to
New Oriental -
Basic (note 2) 1.16 1.02
Non-GAAP net
income per ADS
attributable to
New Oriental -
Diluted (note 2) 1.16 1.02
Weighted average
shares used in
calculating
basic net income
per ADS (note 2) 158,573,830 157,983,415
Weighted average
shares used in
calculating
diluted net
income per ADS
(note 2) 159,193,707 158,234,303
Non-GAAP income
per share -
basic 1.16 1.02
Non-GAAP income
per share -
diluted 1.16 1.02
Notes:
Note 1: Share-based compensation expenses (in thousands) are included in the operating cost
and expenses as follows:
For the Three Months Ended
August 31
2018 2017
(Unaudited) (Unaudited)
USD
USD
General and
administrative
expenses 13,920 3,126
Total 13,920 3,126
Note 2: Each ADS represents one common share.
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