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China Distance Education Holdings Limited Reports Second Quarter 2009 Results

 

Net Revenues Doubled YoY to US$6.8 million

Total Online Course Enrollment Grew 72.6% YoY to 197,000

BEIJING, China, May 15 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education, reported today its unaudited financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2009 ended on March 31, 2009.

    Second Quarter Fiscal 2009 Business and Financial Highlights:
    -- Total online course enrollments exceeded 197,000, an increase of 72.6%
       from the second quarter of fiscal 2008.
    -- Net revenues increased 99.3% over the second quarter of fiscal 2008 to
       US$6.8 million.
    -- Gross profit increased 53.2% over the second quarter of fiscal 2008 to
       US$3.3 million. Non-GAAP gross profit excluding share-based
       compensation charge was US$3.9 million, an increase of 80.0% over the
       same period of fiscal 2008.
    -- Gross profit margin was 48.8%, compared to 63.5% in the second quarter
       of fiscal 2008. Non-GAAP gross margin excluding share-based
       compensation charge was 57.4%, compared to 63.5% in the same period of
       fiscal 2008.
    -- Net income was US$0.3 million, compared to US$0.7 million in the second
       quarter of fiscal 2008.
    -- Non-GAAP net income excluding share-based compensation was US$1.4
       million, an increase of 85.0% as compared to US$0.7 million in the
       second quarter of fiscal 2008. Non-GAAP net income margin for the
       second quarter of fiscal 2009 excluding the impact of share-based
       compensation was 20.0% as compared to 21.6% in the same period of
       2008.(1)
    -- Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") was
       US$0.01 and US$0.01, respectively, compared to basic and diluted net
       income per ADS of US$0.01 and US$0.01, respectively, for the second
       quarter of fiscal 2008. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.
    -- Basic and diluted non-GAAP net income per ADS excluding share-based
       compensation charge and the effect of Series A convertible contingently
       redeemable preferred shares ("Series A shares") were US$0.04 and
       US$0.04, compared to basic and diluted non-GAAP net income per ADS of
       US$0.03 and US$0.03, respectively, for the second quarter of fiscal
       2008.
    -- Deferred revenue and refundable fees balance maintained at US$9.6
       million, as elite class revenue of CPA Qualification Examination and
       healthcare has been recognized during the quarter.

    (1) For more information about the non-GAAP financial measures contained
        in this press release, please see "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures"
        below.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, CDEL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "We are pleased to report another quarter of solid financial results. Our performance further demonstrates the resilient nature of the education industry in China and the strength of our professional education business model and growth strategy, which is allowing the Company to deliver sustainable growth throughout the economic cycle."

Mr. Zhu continued, "The sustained growth in enrollments in both accounting and non-accounting subjects demonstrates our ability to replicate our successful accounting model to other subject and course offerings. The strong acceptance of our premium classes has also proven our diversified pricing and marketing strategies, which have helped to maintain our average selling-price (ASP) level.

"The non-cyclical nature of the education industry has shielded us thus far from experiencing any significant adverse impact from the soft economic environment. While the half-price promotion launched in the previous quarters was expected to have pressure on ASPs of the affected courses, it has helped expand our student base and our market share.

"We are confident that our focused growth strategy and competitive advantages, including a well recognized brand name, diversified and high quality course offerings, superior services and a strong technology platform, will continue to position our business to maintain strong growth as we capitalize on the immense opportunities in the education market in China" Mr. Zhu concluded.

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, commented, "As a result of continued demand for our existing course offerings, we were able to deliver strong revenue growth during the quarter, despite the fact that our self-taught courses have not yet made a substantial contribution.

"As part of our strategy to further bolster our market position and to improve service quality, we continued to invest in strengthening our sales, teaching services, tutoring and technical support, and general customer services during the period by further expanding our headcount and office space. While this impacted our margins in the quarter, we believe these efforts are necessary to support our continued growth and will allow us to strengthen our market position moving forward. In addition, the newly acquired Yucai contributed an additional US$0.3 million of cost and expenses for the quarter."

Fiscal Second Quarter 2009 Unaudited Financial Results

Net Revenues. Total net revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 were US$6.8 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 99.3% from US$3.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2008.

Online education services net revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 were US$5.4 million, an increase of 71.6% from the second quarter of fiscal 2008. The increase was primarily driven by robust enrollment growth in most of our business lines as total enrollments grew to approximately 197,000 from 114,000 in the second quarter of fiscal 2008. Elite class revenue recognized in the quarter amounted to US$1.3 million, an increase of 76.0% compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2008.

The Company's complementary businesses achieved exceptional growth in revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Revenue from books and reference materials sales increased by 181.9% to US$0.6 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Other revenues, primarily comprised of platform production and related services, course production services, and magazine content production services reached US$0.8 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 from a negligible amount in the corresponding period of last year.

Cost of Sales. Cost of sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 was US$3.5 million, an increase of 179.7% year-over-year and a 37.7% sequential increase over the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Excluding share-based compensation (non-GAAP), cost of sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 was US$2.9 million, an increase of 133.1% year-over-year and an increase of 39.7% over the first quarter of fiscal 2009. The increase in cost of sales was primarily due to increased salaries and welfare expenses, rental and utilities expenses as we continued to add more personnel and increased rental space to accommodate the increased headcount, costs from the newly acquired Yucai, and the increased share-based compensation charge in the quarter. Cost of books and reference materials also increased in proportion with the increase in sales.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin. Gross profit for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 was US$3.3 million, representing a 53.2% increase from US$2.2 million in the same period last year. Excluding share-based compensation, non-GAAP gross profit was US$3.9 million, an increase of 80.0% year-over-year. Gross margin for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 decreased to 48.8% from 63.5% in the second quarter of fiscal 2008. Excluding share-based compensation, the non-GAAP gross margin for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 was 57.4%, compared to 63.5% in the same period of 2008. The decrease in gross margin was primarily due to the lower margin books and reference materials revenue, expenses related to the newly acquired Yucai, personnel cost and rental and utilities expenses as the Company expanded its office space to accommodate increased headcount.

Operating Expenses. Total operating expenses for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 were US$3.3 million, an increase of 176.1% year-over-year and a decrease of 2.6% over the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Excluding share-based compensation (non-GAAP), operating expenses were US$2.8 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 133.5% and a sequential decrease of 4.2%.

Selling expenses amounted to US$1.6 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2009, representing a 272.6% increase year-over-year and a 22.0% sequential quarter-over-quarter increase. Excluding share-based compensation (non-GAAP), selling expenses were US$1.5 million, representing a 247.0% year-over-year increase and a 23.2% sequential increase. The increase in selling expenses was primarily due to increased headcount in the customer service and sales departments as the Company further strengthened the internal sales team, increased advertising and promotional activities, and increased commissions to its online agents.

General and administrative expenses were US$1.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009, representing a 122.0% year-over-year increase and a 18.2% sequential quarter-over-quarter decline. Excluding share-based compensation charge (non-GAAP), general and administrative expenses were US$1.3 million, an increase of 69.9% year-over-year and a decrease of 23.6% compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2009. The year-over-year increase was primarily the result of increased headcount and additional expenses associated with being a US public company.

Income Tax Expense. Income tax expense for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 was US$0.23 million, compared with US$0.17 million in the same period last year.

Net Income. Net income was US$0.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2009, compared to US$0.7 million in the same period of 2008. Excluding share- based compensation, non-GAAP net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 was US$1.4 million, compared to US$0.7 million in the corresponding quarter in 2008 and the newly acquired Yucai contributed to a reduction in net income by US$0.2 million.

Operating Cash Flow. Net operating cash flow for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 was US$1.0 million, a decrease of 3.3% over the same period last year primarily due to the negative changes in working capital.

Cash and Cash Equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2009 decreased to US$61.4 million from US$64.4 million as of December 31, 2008. This decrease was mainly due to the Yucai acquisition, capital expenditure for the purchase of electronic equipment and intangible assets, and the repurchase of our ADSs from the open market in the amount of US$2.4 million, US$0.8 million and US$1.0 million, respectively, despite US$1.0 million generated from operating cash flow.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2009 Guidance -- Due to the seasonality of our business, we typically experience fluctuations in our results. As such, CDEL expects to generate total net revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 in the range of US$7 million to US$8 million, as compared to net revenues of US$4.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2008. This represents our current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Conference Call

China Distance Education Holdings Limited senior management will host a conference call at 8:00 am (Eastern) / 5:00 am (Pacific) / 8:00 pm (Beijing) on Monday, May 18, 2009 to discuss its fiscal second quarter 2009 financial results and recent business activities. The conference call may be accessed by calling +1 866 519 4004 (US), 800 933 053 (Hong Kong), 800 819 0121 (China), or 0 808 234 6646 (UK). A telephone replay will be available shortly after the call until May 25, 2009 at +1 866 214 5335 (US), 800 901 596 (Hong Kong), 10 800 714 0386 (China North), 10 800 140 0386 (China South) or 0 800 731 7846 (UK). Pass code 97553376.

A live webcast of the conference call and replay will be available on the investor relations page of China Distance Education Holdings Limited's website at: http://ir.cdeledu.com/versions/Financials_en/EarningsAnnouncements_en.html

About China Distance Education Holdings Limited

China Distance Education Holdings Limited is a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education. The courses offered by the Company through its websites are designed to help professionals and other course participants obtain and maintain the skills, licenses and certifications necessary to pursue careers in China in the areas of accounting, law, healthcare, construction engineering, information technology and other industries. The Company also offers online test preparation courses to self-taught learners pursuing higher education diplomas or degrees and to secondary school and college students preparing for various academic and entrance exams. In addition, the Company offers online foreign language courses.

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," "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expect," "anticipate," "future," "intend," "plan," "believe," "is/are likely to," "estimate" and similar statements. Among other things, the outlook for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2009 and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as the Company's strategic and operational plans contain forward-looking statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC in its annual report 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 the Company'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 goals and growth strategies; its future prospects and market acceptance of its online courses and other products and services; its future business development and results of operations; projected revenues, profits, earnings and other estimated financial information; projected enrollment numbers; its plans to expand and enhance its online courses and other products and services; competition in the online education and test preparation markets; and Chinese laws, regulations and policies, including those applicable to the Internet and Internet content providers, the education and telecommunications industries, mergers and acquisitions, taxation and foreign exchange.

Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's registration statement on Form F-1 and other documents filed with the SEC. The Company 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.

Statement Regarding Unaudited Financial Information

The unaudited financial information set forth above is preliminary and subject to adjustments. Adjustments to the financial statements may be identified when audit work is performed for the year-end audit, which could result in significant differences from this preliminary unaudited financial information.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the Company's consolidated financial results presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, the Company uses the following measures defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the SEC: net income excluding share-based compensation expenses, operating income excluding share-based compensation expenses, gross profit excluding share-based compensation expenses, cost of sales excluding share-based compensation expenses, selling expenses excluding share-based compensation expenses, general and administrative expenses excluding share-based compensation expenses, net income margin excluding share-based compensation expenses, operating margin excluding share-based compensation expenses, gross profit margin excluding share-based compensation expenses and basic and diluted earnings per ADS and per share excluding share-based compensation expenses, and the effect of Series A Shares. 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 table captioned "Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP measures" set forth at the end of this release. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity by excluding share-based expenses that may not be indicative of its operating performance from a cash perspective. The Company believes that both management and investors benefit from 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 the Company's historical performance and liquidity. The Company computes its non-GAAP financial measures using the same consistent method from quarter to quarter, except basic and diluted earnings per ADS and per share excluding share-based compensation expenses, and the effect of Series A shares. The Company 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 excluding share-based compensation expenses from the above-mentioned line items and presenting these non-GAAP measures is that share-based compensation charges will continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant recurring expense in our business. Management compensates for this limitation by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from each non-GAAP measure. The accompanying table at the end of this release provides more detail on the reconciliations between GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures.



                    China Distance Education Holdings Limited
                      Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets
    (in thousands of US Dollars, except number of shares and per share data)

                                        September 30, 2008    March 31, 2009
    Assets:                                       (audited)       (unaudited)
    Current assets:
    Cash and cash equivalents                       66,223            61,427
    Accounts receivable                                715             1,690
    Inventories                                        177               353
    Prepayment and other current assets              1,469             3,127
    Deferred tax assets, current portion             2,297             1,799
    Deferred cost ¨C current portion                    448             1,309
     Total current assets                           71,329            69,705

    Non-current assets:
    Property, plant and equipment, net               7,089             8,136
    Goodwill                                         5,278             5,724
    Other intangible assets, net                     1,390             4,524
    Deposit for non-current assets                     151                --
    Deferred tax assets, non-current
     portion                                            89               255
     Total non-current assets                       13,997            18,639

     Total assets                                   85,326            88,344

    Liabilities and shareholders' equity:
    Current liabilities:
    Accrued expenses and other
     liabilities                                     2,983             2,912
    Income tax payable                               1,014               215
    Deferred revenue, current portion                3,728             8,036
    Refundable fees                                  4,688             1,445
     Total current liabilities                      12,413            12,608

    Non-current liabilities:
    Deferred revenue, non-current portion              163               116
    Deferred tax liabilities, non-current
     portion                                            --               487
     Total non-current liabilities                     163               603

     Total liabilities                              12,576            13,211

    Commitments and contingencies                       --                --

    Minority interest                                   --             2,064

    Shareholders' equity
    Ordinary shares (par value of
     US$0.0001 per share at September 30,
     2008 and March 31, 2009,
     respectively; Authorized ¨C
     480,000,000 shares at September 30,
     2008 and March 31, 2009; Issued and
     outstanding ¨C141,897,737 and
     140,522,137 shares at September 30,                14                14
    Additional paid-in capital                      76,811            77,381
    Foreign currency translation                     1,717             1,678
    Cumulative deficits                             (5,792)           (6,004)
     Total shareholders' equity                     72,750            73,069
     Total liabilities and shareholders'
      equity                                        85,326            88,344



                    China Distance Education Holdings Limited
                   Unaudited Consolidated Statements Of Income
     (in thousands of US dollars, except number of shares, per share and per
                                    ADS data)

                                                  Three Months Ended March 31,
                                                      2008               2009
    Sales, net of business tax, value-
     added tax and related surcharges:
    Online education services                        3,166              5,434
    Books and reference materials                      201                561
    Others                                              22                757
     Total net revenues                              3,389              6,752

    Cost of sales
    Cost of services                                (1,134)            (3,166)
    Cost of tangible goods sold                       (101)              (288)
     Total cost of sales                            (1,235)            (3,454)

    Gross profit                                     2,154              3,298

    Operating expenses
    Selling expenses                                  (432)            (1,608)
    General and administrative expenses               (769)            (1,707)
     Total operating expenses                       (1,201)            (3,315)
    Other operating income                              --                292

    Operating income                                   953                275

    Interest income                                     14                177
    Interest expense                                    (8)                --
    Exchange loss                                      (16)                (4)
    Equity in loss of an affiliated
     company                                           (40)                --

    Income before income taxes                         903                448
    Income tax expense                                (172)              (227)
    Minority interest, net of taxes                     --                 43

    Net income                                         731                264
    Accretion of Series A convertible
     contingently redeemable preferred
     shares to redemption amount and
     accretion of beneficial conversion
     feature of Series A convertible
     contingently redeemable preferred
     shares                                           (398)                --

    Net income attributable to ordinary
     shareholders                                      333                264

    Earnings per share
    Basic                                             0.00               0.00
    Diluted                                           0.00               0.00

    Earnings per ADS
    Basic                                             0.01               0.01
    Diluted                                           0.01               0.01

    Weighted average number of ordinary
     shares outstanding:
    Basic and diluted shares                    91,877,000        140,846,061




                    China Distance Education Holdings Limited
                   Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures
     (In thousands of US Dollars, except number of shares, per share and per
                                    ADS data)

                                                  Three Months Ended March 31,
                                                      2008               2009
                                                (Unaudited)        (Unaudited)

    Cost of sales                                    1,235              3,454
    Share-based compensation expense in
     cost of sales                                      --                575
    Non-GAAP cost of sales                           1,235              2,879

    Selling expenses                                   432              1,608
    Share-based compensation expense in
     selling expenses                                   --                111
    Non-GAAP selling expenses                          432              1,497

    General and administrative expenses                769              1,707
    Share-based compensation expense in
     general and administrative expenses                --                400
    Non-GAAP general and administrative
     expenses                                          769              1,307

    Gross profit                                     2,154              3,298
    Share-based compensation expenses                   --                575
    Non-GAAP gross profit                            2,154              3,873

    Gross profit margin                              63.5%              48.8%
    Non-GAAP gross profit margin                     63.5%              57.4%

    Operating income                                   953                275
    Share-based compensation expenses                   --              1,086
    Non-GAAP operating income                          953              1,361

    Operating margin                                 28.1%               4.1%
    Non-GAAP operating margin                        28.1%              20.2%

    Net income                                         731                264
    Share-based compensation expense                    --              1,086
    Non-GAAP net income                                731              1,350

    Net income margin                                21.6%               3.9%
    Non-GAAP net income margin                       21.6%              20.0%

    Earnings per share-basic                          0.00               0.00
    Earnings per share-diluted                        0.00               0.00
    Non-GAAP earnings per share-basic                 0.01               0.01
    Non-GAAP earnings per share-diluted               0.01               0.01

    Earnings per ADS-basic (note 1)                   0.01               0.01
    Earnings per ADS-diluted (note 1)                 0.01               0.01
    Non-GAAP earnings per ADS basic (note
     1)                                               0.03               0.04
    Non-GAAP earnings per ADS-diluted
     (note 1)                                         0.03               0.04

    Weighted average shares used in
     calculating basic earnings per share       91,877,000        140,846,061
    Weighted average shares used in
     calculating diluted earnings per
     share                                      91,877,000        140,846,061
    Weighted average shares used in
     calculating basic non-GAAP earnings
     per share                                  91,877,000        140,846,061
    Weighted average shares used in
     calculating diluted non-GAAP
     earnings per share                         91,877,000        140,846,061


    Note 1: Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.



    For further information, please contact:

    Investor Contact:
    China Distance Education Holdings Limited
     Ping Wei, CFO
     Tel:   +86-10-8231-9999
     Email: IR@cdeledu.com

    Taylor Rafferty
     Mahmoud Siddig, Director
     Tel:   +1-212-889-4350
     Email: cdel@taylor-rafferty.com' target='_blank' title='cdel@taylor-rafferty.com'>cdel@taylor-rafferty.com

     Ruby Yim, Managing Director
     Tel:   +852-3196-3712
     Email: cdel@taylor-rafferty.com' target='_blank' title='cdel@taylor-rafferty.com'>cdel@taylor-rafferty.com

SOURCE China Distance Education Holdings Limited