China Distance Education Holdin (NYSE:DL)

Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results

• Net revenue increased by 8.1% to $41.9 million from $38.8 million in the prior year period.
  
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS attributable to CDEL were $0.149 and $0.147, respectively, compared with basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net loss per ADS attributable to CDEL of $0.101, for the second quarter of fiscal 2019.
  

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "In the second quarter of fiscal 2020, we delivered year-over-year revenue growth of 8.1%, within our guidance range. The second quarter revenue growth was driven primarily by the healthy revenue growth of our industry-leading accounting vertical. In concert with our responsive measures to support our students across China during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 or COVID-19 epidemic, we offered free online courses to students in Hubei province, and significant discounts for certain online exam preparation courses to students outside Hubei, providing students with convenient access to high-quality online professional education at a time when offline classes were restricted. This initiative quickly attracted students across China to our online learning platform. As a result, our paid enrollments nearly doubled year-over-year in the second quarter, dramatically expanding our student base. While our efforts to support students during the COVID-19 outbreak negatively impacted our second quarter revenue and cash receipts growth, they underscore our commitment to social responsibility, our vision to cultivate online learning as a lifestyle, and our aim to be our students' life-long education partner of choice."

Mr. Zhu concluded, "In the second quarter of fiscal 2020, we officially commenced the third decade as China's preeminent provider of online professional education. During the past 20 years, CDEL has honed its comprehensive life-long learning ecosystem, as we consistently deliver best-of-breed educational content and integrate new technologies into our learning solutions. Looking ahead, we will remain focused on developing our life-long learning ecosystem, which now spans four key industry verticals – accounting, healthcare, engineering and construction, and legal; and provides students with a diverse portfolio of curricula that accommodates their different learning needs, styles and preferences. As online education continues to evolve and become a more widely accepted learning method, we are ready to leverage our extensive experience and compelling value proposition to serve a broader student audience, helping them achieve positive learning outcomes and realize continued advancement in their chosen careers."

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "The second quarter of fiscal 2020 marks the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement in operating margins. We are particularly pleased to report improved profitability in our second fiscal quarter, given the challenges we faced during the COVID-19 epidemic. Our profitability improvement demonstrates the resilience of our business model, coupled with our effective execution of cost control measures. With the second half of our fiscal year well underway, we will continue to proactively manage expenses while maintaining operating efficiency, with a goal of balancing our growth and profitability."

Outlook

For the third quarter of fiscal 2020, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $50.6 million to $53.7 million, representing year-over-year decline of approximately 18% to 13%, respectively.

For fiscal year 2020, the Company decided to withdraw its previous revenue guidance in consideration of uncertainties related to the impact of COVID-19, including the postponement of certain professional examinations, the schedule of reopening of schools, and the schedule of resumption of provision of offline training courses, among others.

Dividend

The Company today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a special cash dividend of $0.145 per ordinary share on its outstanding shares to shareholders of record as of the close of trading on March 31, 2020.

Holders of American Depositary Shares ("ADS"), each representing four ordinary shares of CDEL, are accordingly entitled to a cash dividend of $0.58 per ADS. The depository, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, will charge a fee of $0.02 per ADS when the dividends are distributed on or about April 24, 2020.

Subject to the Company's ongoing financial performance, cash position, budget and business plan, and market conditions, the Company's Board of Directors will, on a yearly basis, consider paying a dividend.

First Quarter Fiscal 2020 Financial Results

• Net Revenue. Total net revenue increased by 20.6% to $51.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 from $42.6 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. 
• Non-GAAP[1] net loss attributable to CDEL was $1.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with non-GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL of $2.4 million in the prior year period.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "In the first quarter of fiscal 2020, we achieved net revenue growth of 20.6% year-over-year, driven by continued strength from our industry-leading accounting vertical, as well as strong revenue growth from our healthcare vertical. With our superior and broad portfolio of course offerings across our four key industry verticals - accounting, healthcare, engineering & construction (E&C), and legal, we remain at the forefront of professional online education, helping students achieve positive learning outcomes as they seek to advance in their chosen careers."

Mr. Zhu continued, "To join in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak, CDEL has taken prompt action to support our students across China. Toward the end of January, CDEL began offering free online courses covering popular professional examination categories to students in Hubei province, the epicenter of the epidemic, and offered significant discounts for certain online exam preparation courses to students outside of Hubei. We are also collaborating with the Ministry of Education and government-sponsored educational platforms by providing complimentary access to online college-related courses as well as professional education courses."

Mr. Zhu concluded, "As a leading provider of online education in China with a firm commitment to social responsibility, we are determined to leverage our best-of-breed educational content and technological strength to help students overcome this challenging time. With our comprehensive lifelong learning ecosystem, we are uniquely positioned to serve a broader student demographic, as online education becomes a more widely sought after learning modality. We are dedicated to being the partner of choice for our students on their lifelong learning journey of self-advancement."

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "We are pleased to report improvement in operating profitability in our first fiscal quarter, driven by healthy top-line growth and effective control over operating expenses."

Mr. Marostica, continued, "As a result of our response to the COVID-19 outbreak, enrollments in our online exam preparation courses, including discounted and free enrollments, have increased dramatically since the end of January 2020. This development demonstrates our commitment to our students across China, as well as our ability to scale our online learning platform and serve a significantly larger student audience. While we expect our efforts to support students during the COVID-19 outbreak will negatively impact near-term revenue growth, we will strive to maintain operating efficiency while balancing our growth and profitability."

Outlook

For the second quarter of fiscal 2020, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $41.9 million to $43.8 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 8% to 13%.

For fiscal year 2020, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $239.4 million to $250.0 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 13% to 18%. The Company's prior fiscal 2020 full-year total revenue guidance range was $254.2 million to $264.8 million.

Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial Results

• Net revenue increased by 28.1% to $68.7 million from $53.6 million in the prior year period.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP1 net income per ADS attributable to CDEL were $0.558 and $0.554, respectively, compared with basic and diluted non-GAAP1 net income per ADS attributable to CDEL of $0.377 and $0.375, respectively, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "We ended fiscal 2019 on a positive note, with fourth quarter revenue growth of 28.1% year-over-year, above our guidance range. Our fourth quarter revenue performance was primarily driven by continued strength from our industry-leading accounting vertical, together with higher-than-anticipated revenue from our legal vertical, primarily due to the earlier release of exam results for the objective section of the Legal Professional Qualification Exam compared with the same period last year. Total course enrollments were up 40.6% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, primarily due to significant enrollment growth in accounting continuing education courses. Cash receipts from online course registration grew 21.6% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, contributing to the robust growth of cash receipts of 33.1% in fiscal 2019, due in large part to the popularity of our longer duration premium and elite classes."

Mr. Zhu concluded, "During fiscal 2019, we continued our efforts to enhance our comprehensive lifelong learning ecosystem. Through our acquisition of Beijing Ruida, we have established our fourth key industry vertical – legal, while solidifying our market position in accounting, healthcare, and engineering & construction (E&C) professional education with extensive and diversified educational offerings, such as our popular longer duration premium and elite classes. Overall, we remain focused on providing students with best-of-breed educational content and value-added services to guide them in their pursuit of professional licensure in their chosen fields. We are dedicated to serving a broader base of students at different stages of their careers to help them achieve positive learning outcomes and career advancement."

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "The healthy fourth quarter revenue growth, together with continued effective expense control and leverage of our cost structure, contributed to the significant expansion of our fourth quarter non-GAAP operating margin, which came in at 30.9%, up from 23.9% in the prior year period."

Mr. Marostica, continued, "With fiscal 2020 well underway, we aim to continue to focus on balancing growth with diligent expense control, in an effort to build on the momentum of our operating margin improvement in the second half of fiscal 2019, and drive higher levels of profitability in fiscal 2020."

Outlook

For the first quarter of fiscal 2020, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $51.1 million to $53.3 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 20% to 25%.

For fiscal year 2020, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $254.2 million to $264.8 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 20% to 25%.

Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2019

• Net revenue increased by 30.2% to $61.7 million from $47.4 million in the prior year period.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS were $0.299 and $0.296, compared with basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS of $0.174 and $0.173 for the third quarter of fiscal 2018.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "The second half of fiscal year 2019 commenced with a strong third quarter performance, with third quarter revenue and net income growth of 30.2% and 84.1% year-over-year, respectively. Third quarter revenue growth was driven primarily by our industry-leading accounting vertical, a significant increase in revenue from the sale of learning simulation software, and revenue from the legal vertical generated by Beijing Ruida. Total enrollment growth was 29.2% year-over-year in the third quarter, primarily due to significant enrollment growth in accounting and engineering & construction (E&C) continuing education courses. Cash receipts from online course registration grew 30.7% year-over-year in the third quarter, or 39.8% year-over-year on a constant currency basis, due to the continued popularity of our longer duration premium and elite classes."

Mr. Zhu concluded, "Our third quarter results show that our multi-pronged growth strategy is bearing fruit. All three core verticals of accounting, healthcare, and E&C, posted strong year-over-year cash receipt growth in the third quarter, demonstrating the broad appeal of our course offerings across industry verticals. Underpinning the growth of our industry verticals is the comprehensive life-long learning ecosystem we have built and continue to enhance. Our accounting vertical, for example, now encompasses a full complement of services, including professional certification exam preparation and continuing education services; practical accounting training and employment guidance services; accounting and related advisory services to corporate clients; and books and reference materials. We are focused on developing similar ecosystems across our other industry verticals, such as healthcare, E&C, and legal, in an effort to create additional avenues of growth and expand our overall growth opportunities."

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "We returned to profitability in the third quarter as anticipated, and recorded non-GAAP operating margin of 16.8%, a significant year-over-year improvement due to strong third quarter revenue growth, coupled with the successful implementation of certain expense control measures and leverage of our cost structure."

Mr. Marostica, continued, "With our fourth fiscal quarter well underway, we remain steadfast in continuing to balance growth with a keen focus on profitability and prudent cost control."

Outlook

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $63.3 million to $66.5 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 18% to 24%.

For fiscal year 2019, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $206.4 million to $209.6 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 23.8% to 25.8%. The Company's prior fiscal 2019 full-year total net revenue guidance range was $210.0 million to $218.3 million.

Second Quarter 2019 Financial Results

• Net revenue increased by 30.3% to $38.8 million from $29.7 million in the prior year period.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net loss per ADS were $0.101, compared with basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net loss per ADS of $0.082 for the second quarter of fiscal 2018.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "In the second quarter of fiscal 2019, revenue grew 30.3% year-over-year, exceeding the high end of our guidance range, primarily driven by the strong growth of our accounting vertical together with a significant increase in revenue from the sale of learning simulation software. Revenue from the legal vertical generated by Beijing Ruida also contributed to the growth. Total enrollment growth was 8.9% year-over-year in the second quarter, primarily due to the substantial enrollment growth in accounting and engineering & construction (E&C) continuing education courses. Cash receipts from online course registration grew 29.8% year-over-year in the second quarter, reflecting the continued popularity of our longer duration premium and elite classes."

Mr. Zhu concluded, "We are pleased with our second quarter revenue performance as well as the strong momentum of cash receipts growth during the first half of fiscal year 2019. We attribute our performance to our robust lifelong learning ecosystem, well-diversified business model, reputable brand, and a firm commitment to helping our students achieve superior learning outcomes. Recently, the Company decided to increase its equity interest in Beijing Ruida to 60%, from 51% in the second quarter fiscal 2019, based on Ruida's high-quality legal education courseware and considerable growth potential. This strategic investment decision reflects our dedication to further enhancing the Company's comprehensive lifelong learning ecosystem. Looking ahead, we will remain focused on delivering best-of-breed courseware and value-added services to our students at different stages of their careers, and strive to be the premier education partner for our students throughout their lifelong learning journey."

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, said, "Similar to the second quarters of fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2017, we recorded an operating loss in the second quarter of fiscal 2019, as it is typically the lowest revenue quarter of our fiscal year due to seasonality. In addition, the operating loss of the second quarter fiscal 2019 was more pronounced due to our acquisition of Beijing Ruida in July 2018, as Beijing Ruida has quarterly revenue seasonality similar to CDEL's core business, and the operating results of Beijing Ruida include $1.7 million amortization expenses of intangibles arising from the acquisition of Beijing Ruida."

Mr. Marostica, continued, "Despite the first half of fiscal year 2019 operating loss, we believe we will see year-over-year improvement in our operating margins in fiscal year 2019 as a result of our expectation of healthy revenue growth in the fiscal year, together with the implementation of certain expense control measures. As we head into our second half of fiscal year 2019, we are focused on continuing to balance growth with a strong emphasis on profitability and expense controls."

Outlook

For the third quarter of fiscal 2019, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $61.6 million to $64.0 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 30% to 35%.

For fiscal year 2019, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $210.0 million to $218.3 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 26% to 31%. The Company's prior fiscal 2019 full-year total net revenue guidance range was $208.3 million to $216.7 million.

The above guidance reflects the Company's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

First Quarter 2019 Financial Results

• Net revenue increased by 18.8% to $42.6 million from $35.9 million in the prior year period.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS were $0.073 and $0.072, respectively, compared with basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS of $0.018 for the first quarter of fiscal 2018.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "In the first quarter of fiscal 2019, net revenue increased by 18.8% year-over-year, exceeding the high end of our guidance range and reflecting the resilience of our business model in the face of a softer economic environment, as professionals seek self-improvement and career advancement through continued study. As such, we have retained strong momentum in generating cash receipts from online course registration through a portfolio of course offerings across our core verticals, designed in accordance with market demand. Total cash receipts from online course registration increased by approximately 50% year-over-year in the first quarter, primarily as a result of strong cash receipt growth in our core verticals of accounting and healthcare, and more student enrollments in our longer duration premium and elite classes compared with the year-ago period.

Mr. Zhu concluded, "As China's preeminent provider of online education and value-added services for professionals and corporate clients, we strive to build industry-leading education verticals that promote our lifelong learning ecosystem. With a proven business model and powerful growth initiatives in place, we look forward to continuing our relentless efforts to grow our diversified industry verticals and broaden our course offerings and services in key academic disciplines."

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, said, "While our first quarter revenue came in ahead of expectations, we recorded an operating loss in the first quarter, primarily due to the amortization expenses of intangibles arising from the acquisition of Beijing Ruida of $1.7 million, an increase in rental expenses from our new office location in Beijing, higher commissions to agents, and higher advertising and promotional expenses. Nonetheless, we are very encouraged by the strong operating cash flow in the quarter which grew over 100% year-over-year, bolstered by the robust growth in cash receipts from online course registration."

Mr. Marostica, continued, "Despite the first quarter operating loss, we believe we will see year-over-year improvement in our operating margins in fiscal year 2019 as a result of our expectation of healthy revenue growth in the fiscal year, together with the implementation of certain expense control measures. As we head into our busy enrollment season, we are focused on continuing to balance growth with a strong emphasis on profitability and expense controls."

Outlook

For the second quarter of fiscal 2019, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $33.3 million to $34.8 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 12% to 17%.

For fiscal year 2019, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $208.3 million to $216.7 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 25% to 30%.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Results

• Net revenue increased by 28.6% to $53.6 million from $41.7 million in the prior year period.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP1 net income per ADS were $0.377 and $0.375, respectively, compared with basic and diluted non-GAAP1 net income per ADS of $0.219 and $0.218, respectively, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "We concluded the fiscal year with fourth quarter revenue growth of 28.6% year-over-year, modestly below our guidance range, mainly due to a higher-than-expected mix of cash receipts from our refundable accounting elite classes, representing 26.8% of cash receipts from online course registration in the fourth quarter. The revenue from elite classes can be recognized only upon the release of related exam results and the expiration of the students' right to receive a refund, under current U.S. GAAP ASC605. However, fourth quarter revenue growth was still driven primarily by our accounting vertical in addition to newly acquired Beijing Ruida." 

Mr. Zhu added, "We continued to see strong growth momentum of cash receipts from online course registration, which were up a robust 61.7% year-over-year during the fourth quarter, primarily due to strong cash receipts from our core accounting test preparation courses, and more student enrollments in our longer duration premium and elite classes. The popularity of these longer duration classes is a testament to the high degree of confidence and trust students place in us. Total course enrollments were down 2.9% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, mainly due to a decrease in enrollments of our continuing education courses. However, excluding the enrollments of continuing education courses, our total course enrollments were up 8.3% year-over-year in the fourth quarter."

Mr. Zhu concluded, "We continue to look for opportunities to further develop our business, drive growth, and strengthen our lifelong learning ecosystem. Our July 2018 acquisition of an additional 11% equity interest in Beijing Ruida brings our total equity interest in Beijing Ruida to 51%. Beijing Ruida, a leading provider of exam preparation services for participants in China's national legal profession qualification examination, further diversifies our business model by elevating our position in China's legal education market. In our healthcare vertical, we recently established a partnership with Tencent, aimed at improving our healthcare educational products and services, providing our students with creative learning tools, and allowing us to explore new teaching approaches in healthcare education."

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, said, "Our fourth quarter non-GAAP operating margin was down year-over-year yet up sequentially as expected. The year-over-year decline in operating margin was primarily due to the impact of a higher mix of cash receipts from refundable accounting elite classes on our revenue as mentioned by Mr. Zhu, while the related student acquisition costs were incurred up front. The amortization of intangibles arising from the acquisition of Beijing Ruida and an increase in rental expenses from our new Anhui Qiao office location in Beijing, also adversely impacted our fourth quarter operating margin to some extent."

Mr. Marostica, continued, "Despite the fourth quarter operating margin decline, our headcount remained relatively steady compared with fourth quarter fiscal 2017, excluding Jiangsu Asset, acquired in November 2017, and Beijing Ruida. And we are encouraged by the continued momentum of our cash receipts growth in both our fourth quarter fiscal 2018, as well as our first quarter fiscal 2019 to date. As we begin fiscal 2019, we remain steadfast in continuing to balance growth with a keen focus on profitability and prudent cost control."

Outlook

For the first quarter of fiscal 2019, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $38.7 million to $40.5 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 8% to 13%.

For fiscal year 2019, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $208.3 million to $216.7 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 25% to 30%.

Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results

• Net revenue increased by 33.8% to $47.4 million from $35.4 million in the prior year period.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS were $0.174 and $0.173, respectively, compared with basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS of $0.104 and $0.103, respectively, for the third quarter of fiscal 2017.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "We delivered strong results in our third quarter, highlighted by a 33.8% year-over-year increase in net revenue which exceeded the high end of our guidance range. The top-line outperformance in the third quarter relative to our guidance was driven primarily by our market-leading accounting vertical, which has produced strong revenue growth since the beginning of fiscal year 2018 through the third fiscal quarter. In addition, we are pleased to report that our cash receipts from online course registration were up 51.6% year-over-year in our third fiscal quarter, primarily due to strong cash receipts from our core accounting test preparation courses, and more student enrollments in our longer duration premium and elite classes. Our total course enrollments were down 13.7% year-over-year in the third quarter, primarily attributable to a decrease in enrollments of our continuing education courses. However, our accounting test preparation course enrollments grew 9.9% year-over-year."

Mr. Zhu concluded, "As we look ahead, in addition to driving growth in our three established industry verticals – accounting, healthcare, and engineering and construction, our previously announced acquisition of Beijing Ruida, a leading provider of exam preparation services for participants in China's national judicial examination, further diversifies our business model and squarely positions us in a fourth important vertical – legal. Our investment in Beijing Ruida is well aligned with our strategy of expanding into select educational disciplines, with the goal of further enhancing our life-long learning ecosystem and our future growth opportunities."

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, said, "Strong revenue growth combined with effective cost control drove a return to profitability in our third fiscal quarter as anticipated. However, the increase in fair value of contingent consideration with respect to our 40% equity interest investment in Beijing Ruida, resulting from the outperformance of Beijing Ruida in 2017, adversely impacted our operating income in the third fiscal quarter. Excluding such change in fair value impact, our adjusted operating income and adjusted net income in the third fiscal quarter were $6.0 million and $8.5 million, representing 27.9% and 191.6% year-over-year growth, respectively. We will continue to balance our efforts to drive growth with a keen focus on profitability and prudent cost control."

As previously announced on June 25, 2018 by the Company, Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, had informed the Company of his intention to use his personal funds to purchase the Company's shares for an amount up to a maximum of $25 million within one year. As of July 31, 2018, Mr. Zhu had bought a total of approximately $450,000 of the Company's ADSs on the open market pursuant to a 10b5-1 plan in accordance with Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Outlook

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $54.2 million to $56.3 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 30% to 35%.

For fiscal year 2018, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $167.3 million to $169.3 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 27.7% to 29.3%.

The above guidance reflects the Company's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

BEIJING, July 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education and value-added services for professionals and corporate clients in China, today announced that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire an additional 11% equity interest in Beijing Ruida Chengtai Education Technology Co., Ltd. ("Beijing Ruida"), a leading provider of exam preparation services for participants in China's national judicial examination, for a total consideration of RMB52.8 million ($8.0 million), subject to adjustments under certain pre-agreed conditions, bringing the Company's total equity interest in Beijing Ruida to 51%. In addition, CDEL maintains the right, at its option, to further increase its equity interest in Beijing Ruida up to 60% before April 2019 under certain pre-agreed conditions. The acquisition of the additional 11% equity interest in Beijing Ruida is an all-cash transaction, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "Our investment in Beijing Ruida is ideally aligned with our strategy to build a comprehensive legal education vertical." Mr. Zhu added, "Beijing Ruida is very well positioned in China's legal education market due to its highly acclaimed instructors, best-of-breed educational content, and innovative new media marketing strategy. As a result of Beijing Ruida's outstanding performance in 2017, we have decided to increase our equity stake in Beijing Ruida ahead of April 2019."

Mr. Xiuyong Zhong, Founder and Chairman of Beijing Ruida, said, "CDEL and Beijing Ruida share the common goal of providing best-of-breed education services to help professionals seeking career advancement. We believe Beijing Ruida's emphasis on delivering high-quality educational content and services for participants in China's national judicial examination will further complement CDEL's comprehensive lifelong learning ecosystem."

BEIJING, June 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education and value-added services for professionals and corporate clients in China, today announced that Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, has informed the Company of his intention to use his personal funds to purchase the Company's shares for an amount up to a maximum of $25 million within one year. Mr. Zhu's share purchases will be made 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 in accordance with Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (which if adopted, will allow Mr. Zhu to purchase shares during periods in which he may be in possession of material non-public information) or otherwise.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, commented, "My share purchase plan underscores my confidence in CDEL's long-term growth strategy and business prospects."

Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

• Net revenue increased by 36.1% to $29.7 million from $21.9 million in the prior year period.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net loss per ADS were $0.082, compared with basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net loss per ADS of $0.059, for the second quarter of fiscal 2017.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "During the second quarter of fiscal year 2018, we delivered strong net revenue growth of 36.1% year-over-year, exceeding the high end of our guidance range, with our accounting vertical again driving the outperformance relative to our guidance. Our total course enrollments were down 9.4% year-over-year in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018, primarily due to the decrease in enrollments of our continuing education courses. However, excluding continuing education course enrollments, our total course enrollments in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018 increased 17.2% year-over-year. In addition, even though the cash receipts from continuing education courses were down, we are pleased to report that our overall cash receipts from online course registration were up 25.4% year-over-year in our second fiscal quarter."

Mr. Zhu concluded, "We credit the acceleration of net revenue and cash receipt growth during the first half of fiscal year 2018 to our best-in-class educational offerings, the strength of our brand, and the resiliency of our proven business model. We remain steadfast in our efforts to further enhance our industry-leading lifelong learning ecosystem, and aim to continue to grow our existing industry verticals while expanding into select educational disciplines which complement our overall business."

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, said, "We are encouraged by our strong momentum in cash receipt growth. As expected, the year-over-year increase in salaries and related expenses in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018, which stemmed from the acceleration in hiring activity ahead of fiscal 2018 as previously disclosed, continued to be the primary driver of the year-over-year decline in our second quarter operating margin. However, our second quarter headcount remained relatively stable compared with the first quarter fiscal 2018 as anticipated."

Mr. Marostica continued, "Of note, the year-over-year decline in operating margin narrowed significantly in our second quarter fiscal 2018, compared with the year-over-year decline in operating margin in our first quarter fiscal 2018, owing to strong second quarter revenue growth, relatively stable headcount as previously discussed, and efficient cost control with respect to our second quarter selling expenses, which decreased by 1.1% compared with the same period of last year. As we head into our second half of fiscal year 2018, we will continue to balance investments in growth initiatives while maintaining a keen focus on profitability."

Outlook

For the third quarter of fiscal 2018, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $42.5 million to $44.3 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 20% to 25%.

For fiscal year 2018, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $155.8 million to $162.4 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 19% to 24%.

The above guidance reflects the Company's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

BEIJING, Dec. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education and value-added services for professionals and corporate clients in China, today provided highlights of the Company's strategies aimed at driving future growth, as well as further definition of the Company's business structure.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "Over the past few fiscal years, as previously reported, our business has experienced revenue growth headwinds primarily due to examination policy changes and lower demand for certain professional certification courses, including the Registered Tax Agent Exam, National Pharmacist Exam, and Accounting Certificate Exam. In addition, we experienced pressure on operating margins, amid ongoing investment in targeted growth initiatives to better position the Company as China's premier lifelong learning partner for our students in different industries, with healthier revenue growth and profitability levels. As we embark on fiscal 2018, we would like to take this opportunity to amplify key efforts underway focused on enhancing the future growth of our business, and to provide further definition of our business structure."

Strategic Initiatives Aimed at Driving Future Growth

Over the last several quarters, CDEL launched a number of strategic initiatives in an effort to better position the Company for future growth, including:

Extending Accounting Ecosystem,
Expanding legal education vertical,
Entering China's college market, and
Other key strategic investments.
Mr. Zhu said, "These strategic initiatives are designed to complement our overall business, further diversify our business model to mitigate risk, and drive incremental growth."

Extending Accounting Ecosystem - To further enhance CDEL's footprint in the accounting area, the Company has extended its "Accounting Ecosystem" to include practical training and employment guidance services, in addition to professional certification exam preparation and continuing education services. Moreover, the Company has broadened its services to small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by introducing accounting and related advisory services to complement its existing tax education and tax advisory business.

Employment Guidance Services – In an effort to help students master critical accounting concepts and practical skills, and to guide them in their job search, the Company is providing employment guidance services for accounting professionals, which bundle accounting practical skills training courses and employment guidance services. In fiscal 2017, the Company's employment guidance services for accounting professionals generated impressive cash receipts of approximately $6.1 million.

Investment in Leading Accounting Services Company – In October 2017, the Company entered into an agreement to acquire an 80% interest in Jiangsu Zhengbao Asset Financial Advisory Co., Ltd. ("Jiangsu Asset"), previously called Nanjing Asset Financial Consulting Co., Ltd., which provides accounting and related advisory services to SMEs. The investment in Jiangsu Asset bolsters the Company's accounting services business by over 2,500 SME customers, while at the same time providing superb internship opportunities to students in its College Cooperation Program.

Expanding Legal Education Vertical – In September 2017, the Company completed its acquisition of a 40% equity stake in Beijing Ruida Chengtai Education Technology Co., Ltd. ("Beijing Ruida"), a leading provider of examination preparation services for participants in China's national judicial examination, for RMB192 million ($28.8 million) as previously announced. As previously disclosed, the Company has an option to further increase its equity interest in Beijing Ruida up to 60% before April 2019, under certain pre-agreed conditions. The strategic investment in Beijing Ruida is a prime example of CDEL's strategy to augment its current capabilities by building out existing education verticals, further mitigating business concentration risk, while also adding a well-regarded national judicial examination preparation provider to its portfolio of education services. The Company's early integration efforts have been seamless with Beijing Ruida delivering strong revenue of over RMB190 million during the 2017 National Judicial Examination preparation season.

Expanding College-Focused Business – In May 2016, CDEL bolstered its college-focused business with the acquisition of an 80% equity interest in Xiamen NetinNet Software Co., Ltd. ("Xiamen NetinNet"), a leading provider of accounting learning simulation software tailored for China's college market. In July 2017, CDEL completed the sale of its 80% equity interest in Xiamen NetinNet to CDEL's controlled associate company Beijing Zhengbao Yucai Education Technology Co., Ltd. ("Zhengbao Yucai"), to enhance the Company's operating efficiency and better position CDEL's overall business for future growth, by enabling CDEL's U.S. listed company to focus primarily on the professional education market, while Zhengbao Yucai focuses on the college education market. Also in 2017, Zhengbao Yucai further expanded its college-focused business in the engineering and construction area with Zhengbao Yucai's investment in Hangzhou Wanting Technology Co., Ltd. ("Hangzhou Wanting"), a company listed on China's New Third Board, which offers comprehensive simulation-based learning content to college students to master critical engineering and construction skills. As of September 30, 2017, through an increase in its shareholding, Zhengbao Yucai's equity interest in Hangzhou Wanting was 20.72%.

Other Key Strategic Investments – CDEL has also made a number of other key strategic investments over the last several quarters to broaden the Company's portfolio and complement CDEL's overall business, including Beijing Niuke Technology Co., Ltd., an online information technology training and recruiting platform; and Nurselink International Limited, a company engaged in nurse recruiting and training services. A number of CDEL's strategic investments posted healthy business growth over the past few quarters.

Business Structure

CDEL operates a U.S. listed company, China Distance Education Holdings Limited (DL), and also has a controlled associate company, Beijing Zhengbao Yucai Education Technology Co., Ltd. ("Zhengbao Yucai," NEEQ: 837730). Zhengbao Yucai has been listed on China's New Third Board since June 2016.

CDEL's U.S. listed company is primarily focused on the professional certification and professional development education markets by offering exam preparation courses and a series of complementary services for students across several industry verticals, such as accounting, healthcare, engineering and construction, and legal education, among others. The target customers are working professionals as well as college students. The aforementioned Accounting Ecosystem is primarily cultivated by CDEL's U.S. listed company.

Zhengbao Yucai, on the other hand, is primarily focused on China's college market, by offering business start-up training courses mainly to university students, and learning simulation software aimed at enriching the learning experience of college students and complementing traditional college teaching methods.

The Company does not currently intend to further inject any business operated by CDEL's U.S. listed company into Zhengbao Yucai.

BEIJING, July 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education and value-added services for professionals and corporate clients in China, today announced that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire 40% equity interest in Beijing Ruida Chengtai Education Technology Co., Ltd. ("Beijing Ruida"), a leading provider of exam preparation services for participants in China's national judicial examination, for a total consideration of RMB192 million ($28.3 million), subject to adjustments under certain pre-agreed conditions. In addition, CDEL has the right, at its option, to further increase its equity interest in Beijing Ruida up to 60% before April 2019 under certain pre-agreed conditions. The acquisition of 40% equity interest in Beijing Ruida is an all-cash transaction, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "Our investment in Beijing Ruida is ideally aligned with our strategy to build industry-leading comprehensive lifelong education verticals. With this investment, we immediately strengthen our legal education vertical by adding a prominent national judicial exam preparation provider to our portfolio of education services." Mr. Zhu added, "Beijing Ruida has enjoyed impressive growth since being launched last year due to its highly acclaimed instructors, best-of-breed educational content, and innovative new media marketing strategy. We welcome the Beijing Ruida team to the CDEL platform."

Mr. Fengke Liu, Founder and Chairman of Beijing Ruida, said, "We are delighted to have CDEL as our strategic investor. CDEL and Beijing Ruida share the common goal of providing high-quality education services to help professionals advance in their careers. We believe our focus on delivering high-quality educational content and services for participants in China's national judicial examination will further complement CDEL's broad array of industry-leading exam preparation services."

BEIJING, March 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its 80% equity interest in Xiamen NetinNet Software Co., Ltd. ("Xiamen NetinNet") to its controlled associate company, Beijing Zhengbao Yucai Education Technology Co., Ltd. ("Zhengbao Yucai") for a total consideration of RMB221 million ($32.0 million) (the "Restructuring"). The Restructuring is an all-cash transaction, and is expected to close in the third quarter of fiscal 2017, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and the approval of the National Equities Exchange and Quotations.

In consideration of the Restructuring being a related party transaction for the Company, the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") (i) appointed a special committee of the Board composed solely of independent directors (the "Special Committee") to evaluate and review the key terms of the Restructuring, and (ii) authorized the Special Committee to retain legal counsel and a financial advisor to advise the Special Committee on the proposed Restructuring. The Special Committee, after reviewing the terms of the Restructuring and considering relevant factors and advice from its advisors, determined that such terms were fair to the Company and recommended to the Board to approve the Restructuring.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "Xiamen NetinNet is a leading learning simulation software provider specializing in providing practical accounting-related learning solutions for China's college market, while Zhengbao Yucai operates in China's college market as well, offering business start-up training courses mainly to university students." Mr. Zhu added, "The Restructuring is aimed at enhancing our operating efficiency and better positioning our overall business for future growth, by enabling our U.S. listed company to primarily focus on the professional education market, while Zhengbao Yucai focuses on the college education market. In addition, the Restructuring will significantly increase the cash reserves of our U.S. listed company, which could be used for future planning and development."

BEIJING, Dec. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education, today announced that its majority-owned subsidiary Beijing Zhengbao Yucai Education Technology Co., Ltd. ("Zhengbao Yucai") has delivered a revised share issuance plan ("Revised Plan") to China's New Third Board, an over-the-counter stock exchange. Under the Revised Plan, Zhengbao Yucai will issue no more than 41,880,000 common shares, representing 40.5% of the total outstanding shares of Zhengbao Yucai immediately after the share issuance, at a price of RMB1.99 ($0.28) per common share, an increase from RMB1.91 per common share proposed under the prior plan. Total funds raised by the share issuance are expected to be no more than RMB83.3 million ($11.9 million), an increase from RMB80.0 million proposed under the prior plan. The proceeds from this share issuance are expected to be used by Zhengbao Yucai for business development, which includes mergers or acquisitions of complementary businesses focused on China's college market.

Pursuant to the Revised Plan, Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, chairman and CEO of CDEL, and Mr. Liankui Hu, an independent director of CDEL, will subscribe for 63.8% and 24.6%, respectively, of the total shares to be issued. Immediately following the share issuance, the equity interest of CDEL in Zhengbao Yucai will be reduced from 60.1% to 35.8%, and Mr. Zhu, Mr. Hu, and a partnership in which Mr. Zhu holds a majority of the equity interests will collectively have a combined equity interest in Zhengbao Yucai of 59.5%.  Mr. Zhu, Mr. Hu, and the partnership have entered into an acting-in-concert agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company through which CDEL holds its shares in Zhengbao Yucai, requiring them to vote their shares as to key matters put before the shareholders in accordance with the instructions of such subsidiary.

In the course of discussions concerning the proposal to cause Zhengbao Yucai to raise capital from Mr. Zhu and Mr. Hu, the Board determined that, in view of the Company's equity interest in Zhengbao Yucai and Mr. Zhu's and Mr. Hu's positions with the Company, Mr. Zhu's and Mr. Hu's involvement would cause the transaction to be a related-party transaction for the Company.  Accordingly, the Board (i) appointed a special committee of the Board composed solely of independent directors (the "Special Committee") to evaluate and negotiate the key terms of the proposed transaction and (ii) authorized the Special Committee to retain legal counsel and a financial advisor to advise the Special Committee on the proposed transaction and assist it with the negotiation of the key terms of the proposed transaction. The Board asked the Special Committee to consider the fairness to the Company and its shareholders of the terms of the proposed transaction and to recommend to the full Board whether or not it should approve the proposed transaction. The Special Committee, relying in part on an evaluation report from the financial advisor to the Special Committee, negotiated with Mr. Zhu and Mr. Hu as to the key terms of the transaction and determined that the terms of the Revised Plan were fair to the Company, and recommended that the Board approve the Revised Plan and the related acting-in-concert agreement.  The Board, relying on the Special Committee's recommendation, determined that the terms of the proposed transaction were fair to the Company and its shareholders, and approved the Revised Plan and the related acting-in-concert agreement and authorized the Company to cause the board of directors of Zhengbao Yucai to approve the Revised Plan.

Zhengbao Yucai was listed on the New Third Board in an effort to enhance its brand and visibility within the China market, which the Company hopes may offer Zhengbao Yucai the opportunity to raise capital from the Chinese capital markets to fund future growth. In addition, the Company believes that Zhengbao Yucai's New Third Board listing and the Revised Plan will enable CDEL to focus primarily on its core professional education businesses, while Zhengbao Yucai focuses on college education opportunities.

Fourth Quarter 2016 Financial Results

• Fourth Quarter 2016 Net Revenue Up 7.5% Year-Over-Year to $38.2 Million,
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") were $0.370 and $0.369, respectively, compared with basic and diluted net income per ADS of $0.377 and $0.376, respectively, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "We are pleased to finish the fiscal year by exceeding our quarterly and full year guidance ranges, recording net revenue of $38.2 million in the fourth quarter and $117.5 million in fiscal 2016, representing year-over-year growth of 7.5% and 8.7%, respectively. Revenue growth from our accounting and engineering and construction verticals, books and reference materials and Xiamen NetinNet together contributed to our fourth quarter performance."

Mr. Zhu added, "In fiscal 2016, we made steady progress in our strategic growth initiatives, notably K-12 teacher continuing education, our Open Learning Platform, mobile related products, Big Data solutions, and our College Cooperation Program, as well as the acquisition of an 80% equity interest in Xiamen NetinNet and the successful listing and planned share issuance of our Zhengbao Yucai subsidiary on China's New Third Board. Heading into fiscal 2017, we look forward to executing our growth initiatives, while always being vigilant to acquisition and strategic investment opportunities, with the goal of continuing to drive shareholder value."

Mr. Zhu concluded, "We are pleased to report that in August 2016 we concluded our year-long share repurchase program and are happy to report that, during this period, the Company repurchased 3.1 million ADS in the open market for a consideration of the full authorization of $40.0 million. We are proud that our strong cash generating ability allows us to consistently hold true to our commitment to maximizing shareholder value."

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, said, "Better-than-expected fourth quarter revenue growth, coupled with continued disciplined financial management and diligent cost control contributed to fiscal year 2016 revenue growth of 8.7% year-over-year. Without the impact of the Renminbi depreciation against the U.S. Dollar, fiscal year 2016 revenue and non-GAAP operating income increased 14.2% and 13.8% year-over-year, respectively."

Mr. Marostica added, "Turning to organic growth, excluding both the operating results of Xiamen NetinNet and the impact of the Renminbi depreciation against the U.S. Dollar, fiscal year 2016 net revenue and non-GAAP operating income increased 11.2% and 16.2% year-over-year, respectively, and as a result, our fiscal year 2016 non-GAAP operating margin improved 118 basis points year-over-year. Looking ahead, we will continue to balance our efforts to drive growth with a keen focus on profitability and prudent cost controls."

Outlook

For the first quarter of fiscal 2017, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $28.0 million to $29.2 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 15% to 20%.

BEIJING, Oct. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education, today announced that its majority-owned subsidiary Beijing Zhengbao Yucai Education Technology Co., Ltd. ("Zhengbao Yucai") has announced a share issuance plan on China's New Third Board, the over-the-counter stock exchange. Under the plan, Zhengbao Yucai will issue no more than 41,880,000 common shares, representing 40.5% of the total outstanding shares of Zhengbao Yucai immediately after the share issuance, to be priced at RMB1.91 ($0.29) per common share. Total funds raised by the share issuance are expected to be no more than RMB80.0 million ($11.9 million). The proceeds from this share issuance are expected to be used for working capital and business development, which includes mergers or acquisitions of complementary businesses focused on China's college market.

According to the plan, Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, chairman and CEO of CDEL, and Mr. Liankui Hu, an independent director of CDEL, will subscribe to 63.8% and 24.6% of the total shares to be issued, respectively. Immediately following the share issuance, the equity interest of CDEL in Zhengbao Yucai will be reduced from 60.1% to 35.8%. Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Mr. Liankui Hu and a partnership holding equity interest in Zhengbao Yucai (in which Mr. Zhengdong Zhu has a majority interest) each has entered into an acting-in-concert agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, requiring them to follow the voting intentions of the Company's such subsidiary provided each of their respective equity interests in Zhengbao Yucai is lower than the Company's equity interest in Zhengbao Yucai. Together, Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Mr. Liankui Hu and the aforementioned partnership will have a combined equity interest in Zhengbao Yucai of 59.5% immediately after the share issuance.

Zhengbao Yucai is listed on the New Third Board in an effort to further enhance its brand and visibility within the China market, which offers it the opportunity to raise capital from the Chinese capital markets to fund future growth. In addition, Zhengbao Yucai's New Third Board listing enables CDEL to focus its U.S.-listed company on professional education businesses, while Zhengbao Yucai will focus on college education opportunities.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2016 Financial Results

• Net revenue increased by 7.0% to $30.8 million from $28.8 million in the prior year period, exceeding the Company's guidance range of $27.3 million to $28.8 million. Xiamen NetinNet, which was acquired in the third quarter fiscal 2016, contributed net revenue of $1.1 million in the third quarter.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP1 net income per ADS were $0.234 and $0.233, respectively, compared with basic and diluted non-GAAP1 net income per ADS of $0.161 and $0.160, respectively, for the third quarter of fiscal 2015.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "We are pleased to report third quarter net revenue of $30.8 million, a 7.0% year-over-year increase, exceeding our guidance, as well as net income of $7.4 million, a 41.2% year-over-year increase compared with the third quarter of fiscal 2015. The primary drivers of our third quarter revenue growth include contributions from our accounting vertical, books and reference materials, together with our recently acquired Xiamen NetinNet business, which performed better than our expectations during the quarter. We look forward to the valuable contributions from Xiamen NetinNet in the upcoming quarters."

Mr. Zhu added, "While third quarter cash receipts from online course registration decreased by 15.2% year-over-year, we still achieved growth in cash receipts from online course registration for the first three quarters of fiscal year 2016 of 2.2% year-over-year, primarily attributable to more rapid growth of our accounting vertical during the first half of fiscal year 2016, partially offset by the continued weak demand in our engineering and construction (E&C) vertical and the impact of a later start to the enrollment season for our National Pharmacist Qualification Examination test preparation courses compared with the year-ago period as previously disclosed. Of note, since the mid-July 2016 release of the licensed pharmacist exam policy, we are pleased to see a significant rebound in the cash receipts from the related courses."

He concluded, "In the third quarter, we continued to execute on our strategic growth initiatives, including K-12 teacher continuing education, our Open Learning Platform, mobile related products, Big Data solutions, and our College Cooperation Program. In addition, we were especially pleased to complete the listing of our Zhengbao Yucai subsidiary on China's New Third Board, the over-the-counter stock exchange, in June 2016. We anticipate the listing of Zhengbao Yucai on the New Third Board will further enhance our brand awareness within the China market, and enable us to raise capital from the Chinese capital markets to fund future growth."

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "Our third quarter results reflect solid operating execution coupled with diligent cost control. Of note, excluding the operating results of Xiamen NetinNet, our third quarter non-GAAP operating margin was 23.3%, up 110 basis points year-over-year, demonstrating our focus on the profitability of our business. As we head into our fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 (September), we will continue to balance investments in growth initiatives while maintaining a keen focus on profitability."

Outlook

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $35.6 million to $37.4 million, representing a year-over-year increase of approximately 0% to 5%.

For fiscal year 2016, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $114.8 million to $116.6 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 6.2% to 7.8%. The Company's prior fiscal 2016 full year total net revenues guidance range was $108.2 million to $113.6 million.

 Second Quarter 2016 Financial Results

• Net revenue increased by 8.1% to $24.1 million from $22.3 million in the prior year period, in-line with the Company's guidance range of $24.1 million to $25.2 million.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP1 net income per ADS were $0.088 and $0.087, respectively, compared with basic and diluted non-GAAP1 net income per ADS of $0.049 for the second quarter of fiscal 2015.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "The second quarter revenue growth of 8.1% year-over-year was at the low end of our guidance range. Our revenue growth was primarily led by the healthcare and accounting verticals, and business start-up training services which delivered year-over-year revenue growth of 17.9%, 12.2% and 47.6%, respectively, partially offset by continued weak demand in our engineering and construction vertical, and a decrease in revenue from books and reference materials.

"However, our cash receipts from online course registration in the second quarter decreased by 1.8% year-over-year, primarily due to lower-than-anticipated cash receipts in our healthcare vertical, which decreased by 14.9% year-over-year. We believe the decrease in healthcare cash receipts was attributable to an earlier start to the enrollment season for our National Practicing Medical Doctor Qualification Examination test preparation courses, which kicked-off in the first quarter of fiscal 2016, and a late start to the enrollment season for our National Pharmacist Qualification Examination test preparation courses compared with the year-ago period. This decrease was partially offset by the growth in cash receipts from online course registration in our accounting vertical, which were up 10.4% year-over-year in the second quarter.

"In March 2016, we entered into a definitive agreement to acquire an 80% equity interest in Xiamen NetinNet Software Co., Ltd. ("Xiamen NetinNet") for a total consideration of RMB212 million ($32.6 million). Xiamen NetinNet is a leading learning simulation software provider specializing in practical accounting-related learning solutions for colleges and universities in China. We are delighted to announce that the acquisition of Xiamen NetinNet closed in April 2016. The acquisition of Xiamen NetinNet complements our suite of learning solutions for our growing College Cooperation Program, enabling us to offer comprehensive simulation-based learning opportunities to college students to master critical accounting skills. In addition, the acquisition provides both Xiamen NetinNet and us with unique cross-selling opportunities to bolster our business relationships with college partners. As always, we remain focused on providing the highest quality courseware and services to meet our students' needs as they progress in their careers." concluded Mr. Zhu.

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "Our cost control initiatives during the second quarter contributed to broad-based margin improvement, as we proactively managed expenses while maintaining operating efficiency. As such, our non-GAAP gross margin increased 670 basis points year-over-year to 57.0%, and our non-GAAP operating margin reached 21.3%, a significant improvement compared with 6.3% in the year-ago period. Our efforts to balance profitability and revenue growth in the second quarter resulted in net margin improvement and non-GAAP diluted EPS growth of 77.6% year-over-year in the second quarter. We also demonstrated prudent use of capital in the quarter to develop our business with the acquisition of Xiamen NetinNet. As we previously disclosed, we anticipate the acquisition to be dilutive to our fiscal 2016 financial results, due to the seasonality of Xiamen NetinNet's business and amortization of intangibles attributable to the acquisition, yet slightly accretive to our fiscal 2017 financial results, based on our preliminary assessment.

"We expect our third fiscal quarter revenue to decline primarily due to a late start to the enrollment season for our National Pharmacist test preparation courses, and the corresponding decrease in healthcare cash receipts in the second fiscal quarter and in April 2016; together with softer-than-expected accounting cash receipts during the second fiscal quarter and April 2016. We will continue to focus on implementing prudent cost controls to cushion the impact of the anticipated third quarter fiscal 2016 revenue decline on our overall profitability."

Outlook

For the third quarter of fiscal 2016, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $27.3 million to $28.8 million, representing a year-over-year decline of approximately 5% to 0%.

For fiscal year 2016, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $108.2 million to $113.6 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 0% to 5%. The Company's prior fiscal 2016 full year total net revenue guidance range was $124.4 million to $129.8 million.

The above guidance reflects the Company's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

BEIJING, March 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education, today announced that it signed a definitive agreement on March 23, 2016 to acquire an 80% equity interest in Xiamen NetinNet Software Co., Ltd. ("Xiamen NetinNet") for a total consideration of RMB212 million (US$32.6 million). Xiamen NetinNet is a leading learning simulation software provider specializing in practical accounting-related learning solutions for China's college market. The acquisition is an all-cash transaction, and is expected to close in CDEL's third quarter of fiscal 2016, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. While Xiamen NetinNet is profitable, CDEL expects the transaction to be dilutive to its fiscal 2016 financial results, due to the seasonality of Xiamen NetinNet's business and amortization of intangibles attributable to the acquisition, yet slightly accretive to the Company's fiscal 2017 financial results, based on CDEL's preliminary assessment.

 "We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Xiamen NetinNet," said Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL. "This acquisition is highly complementary to our business, as it will immediately bolster our growing College Cooperation Program by enabling CDEL to better help college students master critical accounting skills through practical learning, and to prepare students for their future accounting careers. In addition to enhancing our College Cooperation Program's learning solution set, the acquisition of Xiamen NetinNet provides both of us with unique cross-selling opportunities to further develop and strengthen our business relationships with college partners. While our strategy focuses on organic growth and internally developed programs, we diligently evaluate acquisition opportunities, and will use our resources for that purpose when a company meets our financial and strategic criteria. Xiamen NetinNet represents a perfect fit for our development of the college market."

Mr. Sida Zhang, Chairman of Xiamen NetinNet commented, "We are excited to join the CDEL team, and believe our focus on China's college market, together with our expertise in simulation technology and practical accounting-related learning, will be a valuable addition to CDEL."

Fourth Quarter 2015 Financial Results

• Net Revenue. Total net revenue increased slightly by 0.8% to $35.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, from $35.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP¹ net income per ADS was $0.739 and $0.733, respectively, compared with $0.685 and $0.681 for fiscal year 2014, respectively.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "2015 marks the fifteenth anniversary since our inception and yet another milestone in our journey. We saw modest increases in enrollment this year despite a weaker business climate, indicating that professionals recognize the high value of our courseware and appreciate the various ways they can access our courses according to their individual schedules and preferred learning methods. Moreover, during fiscal 2015 we faced a number of challenges which impacted our revenue growth, including the previously announced suspension of the Registered Tax Agent exam, industry developments related to our Engineering and Construction vertical, and exam timing changes. Despite these challenges, we were able to deliver year-over-year revenue growth in the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2015 of 0.8% and 11.3%, respectively, both meeting our guidance, driven by our focus on delivering high quality courseware and services to our course participants. Our relentless efforts are paying off, reflected by the accelerating cash revenue growth in October 2015, and position us well for continued improvement in fiscal 2016."

"We have a strong track record of developing and delivering innovative, results-oriented and high-quality courses and services to our course participants. To escalate our competitive advantages, we will continue to invest in advanced technology and innovative areas such as our Open Learning Platform, mobile related products, Big Data initiative, and our College Cooperation Program. "

"Education development is a strategic priority for the Chinese government. The recent inclusion of innovative education reform in China's thirteenth five-year plan offers significant opportunities for CDEL and the online professional education sector. We remain enthusiastic about our future and believe our strong focus on driving innovation in learning will position us to deliver sustainable growth for years to come. " Mr. Zhu concluded.

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "We are pleased to deliver an improvement in non-GAAP operating margins during our fourth fiscal quarter compared with the same period last year, as well as a modest year-over-year increase in our fiscal 2015 non-GAAP operating margins. While we faced a challenging environment in fiscal 2015, our non-GAAP operating margin performance demonstrates the resiliency of our business model and our ability to control operating expenses. As we look ahead to fiscal 2016, we will continue to balance our efforts to drive revenue growth with a strong focus on profitability and expense controls."

Outlook

For the 2016 fiscal year, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $124.4 million to $129.8 million, representing a year-over-year growth of approximately 15% to 20%.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2016, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $21.5 million to $22.6 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 0% to 5% as our quarterly revenue distribution fluctuates year to year.

Third Quarter 2015 Financial Results

Net revenue increased by 15.3% to $28.8 million from $25.0 million in the prior year period, exceeding the Company's prior guidance range of $27.5 million to $28.7 million.

Basic and diluted non-GAAP¹ net income per ADS was $0.161 and $0.160, respectively, representing a year-over-year increase of 5.9% and 6.0%, respectively, from a basic and diluted non-GAAP¹ net income per ADS of $0.152 and $0.151, respectively, for the third quarter of fiscal 2014.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "Third quarter revenue was slightly above the high end of our guidance, led by robust revenue growth in our health-care vertical. During the third quarter, we continued to execute on our key strategic initiatives, and we remain focused on delivering the highest quality courses, services and learning technology to meet the needs of our course participants as they advance in their careers. In addition, our College Cooperation Program is on track to kick off at our partnered colleges and universities this September. We look forward to expanding this program to more colleges and universities and we believe it will become another important driver of our business growth."

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "We continue to post strong cash revenue and enrollment growth in our health-care vertical, which contributed to third quarter revenue growth above our guidance. However, cash revenue in our accounting and engineering and construction verticals tracked below expectations during the third quarter. Despite the third quarter overlapping with our peak enrollment period, we recorded lower-than-expected test preparation enrollments in both our accounting and engineering and construction verticals. Consequently, we anticipate slower revenue growth in our fourth fiscal quarter, and we are focused on implementing prudent cost controls to cushion the impact of slower revenue growth on our overall profitability."

Outlook

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $35.3 million to $37.0 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 0% to 5%.

For the 2015 fiscal year, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $107.8 million to $109.6 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 11% to 13%. The Company's prior full year fiscal 2015 total net revenue guidance range was $116.6 million to $121.5 million.

The above guidance reflects the Company's current view, which is subject to change.

Second Quarter  2015 Financial Results

• Net Revenue. Total net revenue increased by 22.4% to $22.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2015 from $18.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP^[1] net income per ADS was $0.049, representing a year-over-year increase of 16.7%, from a basic and diluted non-GAAP^[1] net income per ADS of $0.042 for the second quarter of fiscal 2014.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "We are pleased to deliver second quarter results in-line with our guidance, led by healthy revenue growth across our three verticals. Our focus remains on providing the highest quality courses, services and technology to meet the needs of our course participants as they advance in their careers. We continue to be at the forefront of online education, and I am very pleased with the recent launch of our College Cooperation Program in the accounting vertical. This new initiative leverages our content and services to benefit students, colleges and universities, and employers, and demonstrates the power and flexibility of our education platform. In addition to expanding our served market to college and university students, we believe the College Cooperation Program will add another driver to CDEL's multi-pronged growth strategy."

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "Our 16.2% year-over-year growth in cash receipts from online course registration in the second quarter of fiscal 2015, given a tough comparable of 59.9% year-over-year growth in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, was slower than we expected. The slower-than-anticipated growth in cash receipts was primarily because of soft overall enrollment growth in both the accounting and engineering & construction verticals, due to a high enrollment base in the second quarter of fiscal 2014 for intermediate APQE and stricter enforcement of associate constructor employment requirements, respectively. Also impacting the growth in cash receipts this year is the Chinese government's tabling of the Registered Tax Agent exam as previously disclosed, and a change in the timing of the CPA exam which will be held in October this year, one month later than last year."

Outlook

For the third quarter of fiscal 2015, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $27.5 million to $28.7 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 10% to 15%.

For the 2015 fiscal year, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $116.6 million to $121.5 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 20% to 25%. The Company's prior fiscal 2015 full year total net revenue guidance range was $123.4 million to $128.3 million.

The above guidance reflects the Company's current view, which is subject to change.

BEIJING, May 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education, unveiled its College Cooperation Program on Friday, May 8, 2015 at a press conference held at The Beijing Convention Center.

The press conference was well attended with over 200 attendees, including leadership from more than 100 Chinese colleges and universities, in addition to representatives from China's mainstream media.

Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, commented, "We are very excited to unveil our College Cooperation Program, which enables us to deliver our industry-leading accounting educational content and services to college and university students, in partnership with colleges and universities. We believe the College Cooperation Program offers strong benefits to all parties involved. Our students will benefit greatly from our blended learning model, which combines our professional-grade accounting content and services with practical training, internships, and employment guidance and recruitment services. Our college and university partners will be better able to attract and serve students by offering accounting programs which have a strong practical underpinning. And employers will be able to take advantage of our Big Data solutions to identify and recruit students based on their needs."

CDEL's College Cooperation Program is aimed at extending the Company's reach into colleges and universities through a four-step program focused on accounting curriculum:

I.    Online-Offline Blended Learning: CDEL will work hand-in-hand with its college and university partners to deliver a blended online-offline learning program where students can prepare for accounting related certifications and qualifications.

II.    Practical Training: CDEL will provide students practical accounting training courses to prepare them for real-world accounting work.

III.   Internship: CDEL will assist students in obtaining virtual internships in accounting where interns can access job-related tasks using CDEL's accounting cloud services.

IV.  Employment Advisory & Recruitment: CDEL will offer students employment guidance services to help them prepare for job opportunities. Using CDEL's Big Data analysis, the Company will match students' job desires with employers' recruitment needs to assist both students and employers in their respective job searches.

First Quarter Fiscal 2015 Financial Results

• Net revenue increased by 14.9% to $21.5 million from $18.7 million in the prior year period, and exceeded the Company's previous guidance range of $20.0 million to $20.9 million.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS was $0.136 and $0.135, respectively, representing a year-over-year increase of 32.0% and 32.4%, respectively, from a basic and diluted net income per ADS of $0.103 and $0.102, respectively, for the first quarter of fiscal 2014.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "We are delighted to report a great start to fiscal 2015, exceeding the top end of our revenue guidance, and reaching the milestone of one million quarterly enrollments for the first time. Our healthy performance is underpinned by our continued focus on delivering high quality courseware and services to our students. Looking ahead, as students migrate from offline to online education, we intend to continue our efforts to further penetrate our core vertical markets by driving new enrollments into our existing courses, while launching new courses into both existing and new verticals. In addition, we continue to drive growth through innovation by developing a deeper understanding of our students' learning needs through our "big data" solutions to better serve our students life-long learning needs via our open learning platform and our comprehensive online and mobile learning platforms."

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "We are pleased with our overall financial performance in our seasonally light first fiscal quarter of 2015. First quarter net income grew 33.9% year-over-year, exceeding revenue growth of 14.9% year-over-year, underscoring the earnings power of our highly scalable business model. As we head into our heavy enrollment season, we intend to balance our efforts to drive growth with a keen focus on profitability and prudent cost controls."

Outlook

For the second quarter of fiscal 2015, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $21.6 million to $22.8 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 18% to 25%.

For the 2015 fiscal year, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $123.4 million to $128.3 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 27% to 32%.

Appointment of Co-CFOs

Ms. Ping Wei notified the Company of her decision not to serve as Chief Financial Officer of CDEL after her term of office expires on March 9, 2015. Ms. Wei, who has extensive international finance, accounting and audit experience and has served as our Chief Financial Officer since 2008, will remain as a senior financial and strategy consultant to the Company for three years. Effective March 10, 2015, Mr. Mark Marostica and Mr. Philip Chan will serve as Co-Chief Financial Officers of CDEL.

Mr. Marostica has over 15 years' experience and extensive knowledge in the capital markets, and the education and Internet industries, and will continue to lead corporate development initiatives for the Company as well as strategic planning activities and investor relations. Mr. Marostica has been the Company's Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy since January 2015.

Mr. Chan has been the Company's Financial Controller since 2005 and has had overall responsibility for financial and accounting matters. He has over 19 years of accounting and auditing experience and is a Certified Public Accountant of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He received a Master degree in Applied Finance from the University of Western Sydney in 2002.

"We extend our special thanks to Ping for her significant contributions over the past several years, including during our debut as a public company in 2008, as well as our follow-on offering last year. Ping has been a highly regarded leader at CDEL, where she oversaw corporate finance, internal audit, business development, and investor relations. We look forward to Ping's continued contributions in her new role as senior financial and strategy consultant, and extend our best wishes to Ping for the future," commented Mr. Zhu. "We welcome Mark Marostica and Philip Chan to our senior management team as Co-Chief Financial Officers, and very much look forward to working closely with Mark and Philip to execute our growth strategy."

Fourth Quarter 2014 Financial Results

• Net Revenue. Total net revenue increased by 30.3% to $35.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, from $27.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") was $0.376 and $0.375, respectively, representing a year-over-year increase of 39.8% and 41.0%, respectively, from basic and diluted net income per ADS of $0.269 and $0.266, respectively for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "We finished the year on a very strong note, delivering 30.3% and 36.2% revenue growth for the quarter and for the year, respectively, both exceeding guidance. In addition, we achieved yet another year of extraordinary net income growth of 72.6% for the year. These strong results reflect the successful execution of our balanced growth strategy, namely, our unrelenting focus on providing our students with high quality courses, services and best-in-class online learning experiences, which helps our students achieve their educational goals and helps the Company build well-known and trusted online education brands; our financial discipline that balances expansion and profitability, paving a healthy runway for our sustained long-term growth; and our ongoing commitment to innovation that fosters development of the most comprehensive online learning systems."

"Continuous innovation and a focus on quality remain the cornerstones of our model, and have served our students well as they continue to migrate from traditional off-line to online learning. Going forward, we will continue to build shareholder value with the same focused growth strategy, expanding our market reach from our traditional test-preparation and continuing education courses to a true life-long, comprehensive online learning program, which encompasses career enhancement professional skills training courses, soft-skill improvement courses, hobby-based courses, and courses that help people improve their quality of life. We have built a solid foundation for such expansion as our continuous investments in our cutting-edge online and mobile learning systems, in content development capabilities, and in our people, have started to pay off. We will work with all our partners to reach more potential users and better serve our large registered user base of close to 30 million students through the adaptation of 'big data' solutions with their life-long learning needs."

"Along with robust revenue growth and high scalability inherent to our model, as we continue to expand, we are confident that we will continue to achieve greater economies of scale, increase profitability and generate higher value for our shareholders," Mr. Zhu concluded.

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "I am very pleased with our financial performance during the fourth quarter, which again reflects strong enrollment gains and disciplined expense control. Our preliminary revenue guidance for 2015, which calls for growth of 27% to 32%, reflects our expectation that we will continue to gain on-line market share as students seek best-in-class course content. From our core online courses, to our innovative e-books and rapidly-growing mobile platform, our goal is to maintain the high quality for which we are known while cultivating new avenues for growth."

Outlook

For the 2015 fiscal year, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $123.4 million to $128.3 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 27% to 32%.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2015, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $20.0 million to $20.9 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 7% to 12% as our quarterly revenue distribution fluctuates year to year.

Third Quarter 2014 Financial Results

• Net Revenue Up 36.6% Year-Over-Year to $25.0 Million, Exceeding Guidance
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") was $0.148 and $0.147, respectively, representing a year-over-year increase of 127.7% and 129.7%, respectively, from basic and diluted net income per ADS of $0.065 and $0.064, respectively for the third quarter of fiscal 2013. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "I am very pleased with our execution this quarter as we continue to achieve healthy enrollment and revenue growth across our core accounting, healthcare, and engineering and construction verticals. We also continue to experience rapid enrollment growth with our innovative mobile courses, cumulatively registering over 31,000 paid enrollments with the three stand-alone mobile accounting courses that we initiated in October 2013. Our plan is to continue to capitalize on this trend by rolling out additional mobile course offerings going forward."

"The delivery of education in China is evolving rapidly to be more online and mobile-based learning. As a leading online education company with over 14 years of operating history and a comprehensive and integrated online and mobile learning platform, we are well positioned to capitalize on this trend. We remain the provider of choice as we continue to leverage our leadership and expertise in providing a first-class online learning experience particularly via the rapidly growing mobile-based platforms. Continued expansion of mobile learning across our core verticals remains a key component of our growth strategy, and we are pleased with the progress we have made to date, and will continue to look for innovations and breakthroughs with this key strategy. "

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "We reported another strong quarter with total net revenue above our previously announced guidance, and we leveraged our cost structure to achieve improved margins and higher net income. Our revenue growth in the fiscal third quarter was driven by enrollment gains across our core verticals. Going forward, we will continue to expand prudently to balance growth and profitability through conservative cost control measures."

Outlook

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $32.4 million to $33.6 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 20% to 24%.

For the 2014 fiscal year, the Company is again raising its guidance for total net revenue to the range of $94.3 million to $95.5 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 32% to 34%. The Company's prior fiscal 2014 full-year total net revenue guidance range was $90.6 million to $94.2 million.

BEIJING, June 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education, today announced that the Company was added to the Russell Global Index effective June 27, 2014.

"We are pleased to have earned inclusion in this well-know and widely followed market index, which reflects the shareholder value we have added over the past 12 months. Inclusion in the Russell Global Index will further raise awareness of our company and expand our potential investor base, as it is widely used by the investment community," said Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, the Chairman and CEO of CDEL.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2014 Financial Results

• Total net revenue increased by 40.4% to $18.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, from $13.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2013.
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") was $0.038 each, representing a year-over-year increase of 65.2%, from basic and diluted net income per ADS of $0.023 each for the second quarter of fiscal 2013. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "During our fiscal second quarter, we continued to build upon our operational momentum, and again delivered strong growth across our three core verticals: accounting, healthcare, and engineering and construction. As Internet penetration expands across China, we have seen unprecedented growth opportunities in the ongoing migration of education and learning from offline to online. We intend to leverage our leading position as a life-long comprehensive online education provider to grow the overall market and further gain market share as Internet-based and mobile delivery channels become more widely available and accepted as the preferred method of receiving education nationally."

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "We again delivered revenue growth that exceeded the top-end of our guidance range, reflecting continued strong demand for our high-quality course offerings. We continued to expand our selling and marketing initiatives in light of the rapid growth in the market for on-line education. We also generated solid operating cash flow in the quarter, and our balance sheet remains very strong, ensuring that we have the necessary capital to pursue the significant growth opportunities in front of us."

Outlook

For the third quarter of fiscal 2014, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $23.2 to $24.1 million, representing a year-over-year growth of approximately 27% to 32%.

For the 2014 fiscal year, the Company is raising its guidance for total net revenue to the range of $90.6 to $94.2 million, representing a year-over-year growth of approximately 27% to 32%. The Company's prior fiscal 2014 full-year total net revenue guidance range was $88.5 to $92.7 million.

China Distance Education Holdings Limited

Representing 16,000,000 Ordinary Shares

We are offering 1,500,000 American depositary shares, or ADSs, and the selling shareholders identified in this prospectus are offering an additional 2,500,000 ADSs. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per ordinary share. We will not receive any proceeds from the ADSs sold by the selling shareholders.

Our ADSs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, under the symbol “DL.” The last reported sale price of our ADSs on March 11, 2014 was US$22.47 per ADS.

BEIJING, March 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education, today announced that the follow-on public offering of an aggregate of 4,000,000 American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") by the Company and several selling shareholders was priced atUS$21.00 per ADS. The Company will be offering 1,500,000 ADSs and the several selling shareholders will be offering 2,500,000 ADSs. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares of the Company. In connection with this offering, the Company and the selling shareholders have granted the underwriters a 30-day overallotment option to purchase up to an aggregate of 225,000 additional ADSs from the Company and 375,000 additional ADSs from the selling shareholders at the public offering price of US$21.00 per ADS.

The net proceeds to the Company, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and listing expenses paid by the Company, will be approximately US$29.0 million, or US$33.5 million if the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full. CDEL will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the ADSs by the selling shareholders. The joint bookrunners of the offering are Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, and the co-managers of the offering are Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. and Piper Jaffray & Co..

First Quarter 2014 Financial Results

• Total net revenue increased by 43.7% to $18.7 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014 from $13.0 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2013.
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") was $0.101 and $0.100, respectively, representing a year-over-year increase of 129.5% and 127.3%, respectively, from a basic and diluted net income per ADS of $0.044 each for the first quarter of fiscal 2013. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "We have started fiscal 2014 on a healthy note, reaching record first quarter revenue and net income. Our strong revenue growth was once again led by our leading online accounting and healthcare verticals. Solid growth from our Engineering & Construction ("E&C") courses, one of our fastest growing verticals, also contributed to our success in the first quarter of fiscal year 2014.

"While we maintain strong operational momentum, enrollment growth for the quarter was relatively small as course enrollments for a few of our accounting programs experienced seasonal fluctuations that pushed some enrollments to later quarters. This fluctuation in timing is common in our business and we remain on track to meet our projected growth rate for the year.

"Our leadership position in the large and growing online professional learning space and our highly scalable business model present us with huge potential over both the near- and longer-term. As we move through the year, we will continue to focus on providing results-driven high quality courses, enhancing our students' learning experiences and further refining our online and mobile learning platforms with cutting edge technology that appeals to everyone's education needs at each stage of their academic and professional development to capture such growth opportunities."

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "We are particularly pleased with our record top- and bottom-line financial results as the first quarter is typically our seasonally slow period. For the first quarter we grew our net income by 131.9% year-over-year to $3.4 million, and grew our net revenues by 43.7% year-over-year to $18.7 million. Our strong first quarter growth was due to strong revenue contribution from accounting, healthcare and E&C verticals. Our margins also improved compared with the same period last year as we continue to benefit from our highly scalable business model and prudent expansion strategy. We also significantly improved our cash position during the quarter, growing our operating cash flow to $8.1 million, compared to $5.3 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2013."

Outlook

For the second quarter of fiscal 2014, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $16.2 to $16.9 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 25% to 30%.

For the 2014 fiscal year, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $88.5 to $92.7 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 24% to 30%.

The above guidance reflects the Company's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

China Distance Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education, today raised its guidance for the first quarter and full year fiscal 2014. The Company anticipates first quarter fiscal 2014 revenue to be between $18.0 million and $18.5 million, higher than the previous guidance range of $15.8 million to $16.9 million. The Company anticipates full year fiscal 2014 revenue to be between $88.5 million and $92.7 million, a 24% to 30% increase over full year fiscal 2013. 

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2013 Financial Results

• Net Revenue. Total net revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 was $27.1 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 61.7% from $16.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS was $0.401 and $0.398, respectively, compared to $0.245 and $0.244 for fiscal year 2012, respectively.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said "We are very pleased to carry our strong operational momentum into the fourth quarter of our fiscal year, ending the year with record results. Net revenues increased by 61.7% to $27.1 millionduring the fourth quarter, exceeding our previous guidance, due to robust growth in nearly all of our business lines. We attribute this solid performance to our commitment to high quality, results-oriented course offerings, our acute focus on enhancing the student learning experience and our effectiveness in scaling our valuable online learning platforms."

"During the course of fiscal 2013, we made steady progress on our long-term strategic initiatives, including the advancement of our online and mobile learning technology integration and further development of our online open learning platform. In addition, we recently launched fee-based mobile accounting courses. Our strategic initiatives further reinforce CDEL's leading position in China's online education market. We believe our new initiatives along with our high-quality, results-oriented course offerings and superior services will enable us to achieve healthy and sustainable future growth."

"Finally, our board has declared a cash dividend of $0.60 per ADS in line with our dividend policy, which is to return all excess cash generated in the year to shareholders. We have a great future ahead of us and remain committed to maximizing returns for our shareholders over the long-term."

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "We completed the fourth quarter with strong financial results that included $9.1 million in net income, a record for CDEL and significantly increased our total cash balance to $72.7 million. These results clearly demonstrate the scalability of our online model and our commitment to maximizing shareholder value. While high accrued expenses and other liabilities and income tax payable balances partially contributed to our high operating cash flow in the fourth quarter, our accelerated revenue and profit growth have been the fundamental drivers for this strong quarterly performance. Going forward, we will continue to focus on the execution of our operational plan and prudently manage our costs to achieve balanced growth and profitability."

Outlook

For the first quarter of fiscal 2014, the Company expects to generate total net revenues in the range of $15.8 to $16.9 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 22%-30%.

For the 2014 fiscal year, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $85.7-$90.7 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 20%-27%.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2013 Financial Results

• Net Revenue increased by 39.3% to $18.3 million from $13.1 million in the prior year period and exceeded the Company's 3Q13 guidance forecast range.
• Gross profit from continuing operations increased by 47.8% to $10.1 million from $6.8 million in the prior year period. Gross margin was 55.0%, compared to 51.9% in the prior year period.
• Operating income from continuing operations increased 143.7% to $2.5 million from $1.0 million in the prior year period.
• Net income increased 65.6% to $2.2 million from $1.3 million in the prior year period.
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") was $0.065 and $0.064, respectively, compared to basic and diluted net income per ADS of $0.039, for the third quarter of fiscal 2012. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "We are very pleased with strong levels of enrollment, revenue and profit growth in the third quarter of fiscal 2013 as we continue to enhance our student learning experience and scale our valuable learning platforms. Net revenue increased by 39.3% to $18.3 million during the period, exceeding our previous guidance, due to broad-based strong growth in our online course enrollments. Such growth once again demonstrated the robust demand for our high-quality course offerings among Chinese students."

"As anticipated earlier this fiscal year, the delayed APQE exam timing pushed a large amount of APQE course enrollment and revenue to the second half of fiscal 2013, resulting in much higher APQE revenue for this quarter. Growth in cash receipts from online course registration, especially cash receipts from APQE, healthcare and construction engineering course enrollments continued to accelerate during the third quarter, positioning us for even stronger revenue growth in the fourth quarter. We are confident we can continue growing at a healthy pace as we further penetrate the online professional education market in our core accounting, healthcare and construction engineering segments. We also continue to make progress with the further enhancement of our mobile learning platform and development of our open platform concept to reinforce our leading position in China's online education market."

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "We achieved strong revenue growth as student enrollment across the majority of our professional verticals continue to grow rapidly. Selling expenses were higher in the third quarter, mainly due to the increased distributor commissions from significantly higher cash receipts from online course registration in the quarter, a significant portion of which will be recognized as GAAP revenue in the later quarters. We also increased our marketing and promotional investments during the peak third quarter season to strengthen our brand visibility and grow total student enrollment."

"We completed the third quarter with a cash and cash equivalent balance of $65.1 million. This was due to extremely strong operating cash inflow in the quarter, primarily driven by significantly higher cash receipts from online course registration generated during the quarter. Due to this strong momentum, we are raising our fiscal year 2013 total net revenue guidance to $67.8 - $68.3 million, representing year-over-year growth of 30% to 31%."

Outlook

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, the Company estimates total net revenue from continuing operations in the range of $23.5-$24.0 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 40%-43%.

For the 2013 fiscal year, the Company is raising its guidance of total net revenue from continuing operations to a range of $67.8-$68.3 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 30%-31%.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2013 Financial Results

• Net Revenue increased by 5.4% to $13.0 million, within the Company's 2Q13 guidance forecast range, from $12.3 million in the prior year period.
• Gross profit from continuing operations decreased by 13.6% to $6.1 million from $7.0 million in the prior year period. Gross margin fell to 46.6% from 56.9% in the prior year period due to the delayed APQE enrollment timing and the fixed nature of Company's operating costs.
• Operating income from continuing operations decreased 78.1% to $706 thousand from $3.2 million in the prior year period.
• Net income was $790 thousand, compared to $2.8 million in the prior year period, a decrease of 71.8%.
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") was $0.023, compared to $0.083 and $0.082, respectively, for the second quarter of fiscal 2012. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares

"We are very pleased to report a quarter of very strong cash receipts from online course registration and non-APQE enrollment growth," stated Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL. "This performance underscores the robust demand for our diversified, high-quality course offerings and innovative learning systems while also demonstrating the growing recognition and quality of our brand among Chinese students."

"The delayed APQE course enrollment timing pushed a large proportion of our APQE course revenue from the current quarter to the second half of fiscal 2013, resulting in lower reported revenue for this quarter. With peak exam season approaching, however, we have experienced strong growth in cash receipts from online course registration, resulting in a 40.6% increase in cash receipts from online course registration for this quarter and an approximately 147% increase through the first half of the fiscal third quarter. We are particularly pleased that our cumulative cash receipts from online course registration for APQE from the beginning of our fiscal year through mid-May has increased by about 35% from the same period last year."

"Our strong enrollment patterns will beneficially impact our fiscal 2013 second half financial results. As such, for fiscal 2013, we are confident we'll achieve robust revenue and profit growth as we further penetrate the market in our core segments, benefiting from our enhanced product offering through our unparalleled online and mobile learning platforms, and expand into the much larger general online education market through our open learning platform."

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "We ended our fiscal second quarter with a very strong cash balance ofUS$53.0 million due to a particularly strong operating cash flow in the quarter, mainly due to the high cash receipts from online course registration generated during the quarter. However, the delayed APQE revenue and the fixed nature of a significant portion of our costs and expenses negatively impacted our operating and net income in the reporting quarter. As we continue to experience particularly strong online enrollment and cash receipts from online course registration increases in 2Q13 and through the first half of 3Q13, we expect much stronger revenue and profitability in the second half of this fiscal year resulting in very healthy revenue and profit growth for the full fiscal year."

Outlook

For the third quarter of fiscal 2013, the Company estimates total net revenue from continuing operations in the range of $16.5-$17.2 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 26%-31%.

For the 2013 fiscal year, the Company is raising its guidance of total net revenue from continuing operations to a range of $65.1-$67.2 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 25%-29%.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2012 Business and Financial Highlights:

• Net revenues from continuing operations increased 8.1% over the third quarter of fiscal 2011 to US$13.1 million.
• Gross profit from continuing operations decreased 4.2% from the third quarter of fiscal 2011 to US$6.8 million.
• Non-GAAP[1] gross profit from continuing operations decreased 8.7% over the third quarter of fiscal 2011 to US$6.8 million.
• Gross profit margin from continuing operations was 51.9%, compared to 58.5% in the third quarter of fiscal 2011. Non-GAAP[1] gross profit margin from continuing operations was 52.0%, compared to 61.5% in the same period last year.
• Operating income from continuing operations was US$1.0 million, compared to US$1.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011. Non-GAAP[1] operating income from continuing operations was US$1.1 million, compared to US$3.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Net income was US$1.3 million, compared to US$0.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.  
• Non-GAAP[1] net income was US$1.4 million, compared to US$2.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011. 
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") was US$0.039, compared to basic and diluted net income per ADS of US$0.028 for the third quarter of fiscal 2011.   Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS was US$0.042, compared to basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS of US$0.083 for the third quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Deferred revenue and refundable fees balance was US$16.9 million, a 34.5% increase from the third quarter end of fiscal 2011. 

Commenting on the results, Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "In the third quarter, we continued to focus on enhancing our students' learning experience and results and on executing our growth strategy. However, as anticipated, our results were impacted by the delayed timing of the Accounting Professional Qualification Examination, or "APQE", and CPA exams.  The delay has shifted the timing of enrollments and a certain amount of GAAP revenue from the fiscal third quarter into the fourth quarter and the next fiscal year.  We believe the impact from the delay is primarily a matter of timing dictated by external factors, and does not reflect on overall market demand for our products and services, which remains strong.  Our results excluding the examination timing issues remain healthy, as we achieved revenue growth towards the top of our guidance range while enrollment and average selling price ("ASP") remain strong across most of our other accounting and non-accounting verticals.

"Going forward, we will continue to focus on integrating cutting edge online and mobile learning technologies in our delivery model and on our content and platform development to continue to enhance our students' learning experience and attract new students to our programs. We expect to continue to grow at a healthy pace for the remainder of this year and into fiscal 2013."    

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, commented, "Due to the fixed nature of a significant portion of our costs and expenses, the delay of certain APQE and CPA revenue from the third quarter to later quarters had a material impact on our net income as compared to the prior year period.  We believe that this impact is due to examination timing issues which are temporary in nature, and as a result, we expect to deliver increased profitability in later quarters." 

Second Quarter Fiscal 2012 Business and Financial Highlights:

• Total course enrollments from continuing operations was 293,000, an increase of 27.7% from the second quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Net revenues from continuing operations increased 36.7% over the second quarter of fiscal 2011 toUS$12.3 million.
• Gross profit from continuing operations increased 49.3% from the second quarter of fiscal 2011 to US$7.02 million.
• Non-GAAP(1) gross profit from continuing operations increased 39.9% over the second quarter of fiscal 2011 to US$7.03 million.
• Gross profit margin from continuing operations was 56.9%, compared to 52.1% in the second quarter of fiscal 2011. Non-GAAP gross profit margin from continuing operations was 57.0%, compared to 55.7% in the same period last year.
• Operating income from continuing operations was US$3.2 million, compared to US$0.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2011. Non-GAAP operating income from continuing operations was US$3.3 million, compared to US$1.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Net income was US$2.8 million, compared to US$0.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Non-GAAP(1) net income was US$2.9 million, compared to US$1.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Basic net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") was US$0.083, compared to basic net income per ADS of US$0.013 for the second quarter of fiscal 2011. Diluted net income per ADS was US$0.082, compared to diluted net income per ADS of US$0.013 for the second quarter of fiscal 2011. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.
• Basic non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS was US$0.086, compared to basic non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS of US$0.040 for the second quarter of fiscal 2011. Diluted non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS wasUS$0.085, compared to diluted non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS of US$0.040 for the second quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Deferred revenue and refundable fees balance was US$15.8 million, a 3.6% increase from the balance ofUS$15.2 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 and a 19.5% increase from the second quarter of fiscal 2011.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "We are very pleased to report another quarter of healthy top- and bottom-line growth, building on the momentum we have gained in recent quarters. Supported by steady enrollment growth across our core online education courses and increasing pricing power, revenue for the quarter again exceeded guidance. Our results demonstrate the robust underlying demand for high quality online training and educational services and the growing strength of our brand power in China's education market. We are also pleased to see that our recent initiatives, including our newly launched high definition courseware and mobile learning platform, are helping to drive incremental enrollment growth across our course offerings, while also supporting growth in average student payments. These new services highlight our innovative and student-focused approach which we believe will help to further strengthen our industry leading position for years to come.

"While overall market conditions and student demand remain healthy, some major Accounting Professional Qualification Examination, or 'APQE', originally scheduled for May have been delayed to October. At the same time we are still awaiting the release of the official policy on this year's CPA exams, including the exam dates, registration timeline and text books. The release of this information is already more than six weeks behind the usual schedule. Consequently, we anticipate a shift in the timing of enrollments and revenue recognition for APQE and CPA exams. Specifically, a significant portion of APQE revenue that we had expected to record in the third fiscal quarter will shift into next fiscal year, and post-exam APQE enrollment will also be delayed until next fiscal year. The delayed release of CPA exam policy for this year may also affect both the timing and the amount of revenue we may earn in the remainder of this fiscal year. While the delayed timing of these exams will impact our results, we believe that these regulatory changes are a one-time event and such changes will only affect the timing of the revenue contribution related to these exams.

"We believe that the continuing strength of our other accounting and non-accounting courses will help to partially offset the near-term impact from these delays. The continued diversification of our business in recent years and the growing momentum of our recent initiatives have helped us to develop a more robust platform with multiple sustainable revenue streams. As a result, we still expect to achieve our revenue guidance for the full year of 20-30% revenue increase year-over-year."

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, commented, "Our performance in the second quarter has again demonstrated the scalability of our business model as we registered another quarter of strong top- and bottom-line growth. Both our gross and net margin continue to expand at a healthy pace while cash flow has also continued to increase, registering a US$4.8 millionincrease in the second quarter.

"The delayed timing of the AQPE exams and the delayed release of CPA exam policy will result in about 15-20% of third-quarter revenue being delayed to later quarters. On a fiscal year basis, APQE alone will result in the delayed recognition of at least US$1.8 million in revenue into fiscal 2013. As most of our costs and expenses are fixed, the impact to our bottom line for the next quarter and for fiscal year 2012 will be even more significant.

"Nonetheless, as most of our other education verticals are growing at a particularly high rate, and as we continue to tightly control our costs and expenses, we remain confident that despite these unexpected delays, we will still maintain net profit growth in-line with our revenue growth in fiscal year 2012."

First Quarter 2012 Results

• Total course enrollments from continuing operations was 828,000, an increase of 62.1% from the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Net revenues from continuing operations increased 35.8% over the first quarter of fiscal 2011 to US$9.9 million.
• Gross profit from continuing operations increased 57.3% from the first quarter of fiscal 2011 to US$5.3 million.
• Non-GAAP(1) gross profit from continuing operations increased 41.0% over the first quarter of fiscal 2011 to US$5.3 million.
• Net income was US$0.4 million, compared to net loss of US$1.0 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Non-GAAP(1) net income was US$0.5 million, compared to non-GAAP(1) net income of US$0.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") were US$0.011 compared to basic and diluted net loss per ADS of US$0.030, for the first quarter of fiscal 2011. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS were US$0.015, compared to basic and diluted non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS of US$0.004, for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, CDEL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "We are pleased to report strong first quarter results with revenues exceeding our guidance and net profit on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. Despite the first quarter being our seasonally lowest quarter of the year, we delivered enrollment growth across our online education courses and average student payment growth for most of our online test preparation courses. As a result, total net revenues from continuing operations of our online education services increased 48.6% year-over-year. In addition, we have seen increasing contribution from our newer initiatives, demonstrating that our investment in new courses and services is beginning to pay dividends.

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, commented, "This quarter's results clearly demonstrated the scalability of our business model as our revenue growth outpaced the increase in cost and expenses despite the fact that we are still operating in an inflationary environment. We expect this margin expansion trend to continue. Simultaneously, we strongly believe in the future of online education in China and we will continue to invest prudently in new online learning models and revenue growth drivers. Going forward, we expect to maintain our non-GAAP margin from continuing operations at a level similar to or slightly better than the non-GAAP margin of fiscal year 2011."

Share Repurchase Program

Today, the board of directors of CDEL has approved the extension of the Company's share repurchase program (the "Prior Repurchase Plan") to April 28, 2013. Under the extended program, CDEL is authorized to repurchase up to US$5.84 million worth of its issued and outstanding ADSs from time to time in open-market transactions on NYSE, representing the unused portion of the Prior Repurchase Plan. The repurchases will be made at prevailing market prices, in negotiated transactions off the market, in block trades, pursuant to a 10b5-1 plan (which if adopted, will allow CDEL to repurchase its ADSs during periods in which it may be in possession of material non-public information) or otherwise. The purchases will be made subject to restrictions relating to volume, price and timing. The timing and extent of any purchases will depend upon market conditions, the trading price of its ADSs and other factors. CDEL expects to implement this share repurchase program in a manner consistent with market conditions and the interest of its shareholders. The board will review the share repurchase program periodically, and may authorize adjustment of its terms and size accordingly. The program may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

BEIJING, December 20, 2011 /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, today announced that it signed six new contracts throughout 2011 relating to its business start-up, or entrepreneurship training program offering. CDEL's business start-up training program aims to teach university students, job seekers and individuals how to start their own businesses using a practical, "learning-by-doing" approach. The program leverages the concept and training framework of an international organization called EUROPEN/Pen International, and allows students to set up their own practice companies and participate in virtual business dealings with other practice companies from both inside China and around the world.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CDEL commented, "We have made significant progress throughout the year on the expansion of our business start-up training programs provided through Yucai. The signing of these six contracts demonstrates the strong underlying demand among both students and local governments for effective business start-up training. We believe the growth opportunities for this business segment will remain healthy given the increasing competition among job seekers and the strong entrepreneurial spirit evident throughout China today. We will continue to work hard to establish new agreements with additional cities and provinces in the year ahead."

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2011 Business and Financial Highlights:

• Total course enrollments from continuing operations were 536,000, an increase of 33.7% from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Net revenues from continuing operations increased 18.2% over the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 to US$13.1 million.
• Gross profit from continuing operations increased 6.3% over the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 to US$6.8 million.
• Non-GAAP(1) gross profit from continuing operations increased 11.2% over the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 to US$7.7 million.
• Gross profit margin from continuing operations was 51.7%, compared to 57.4% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. Non-GAAP(1) gross margin from continuing operations was 58.6%, compared to 62.3% in the same period last year.
• Operational loss from continuing operations was US$0.6 million, compared to operating income of US$0.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. Non-GAAP operating income from continuing operations was US$2.5 million, a 3.7% increase from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Net loss was US$4.1 million, compared to net loss of US$2.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Non-GAAP(1) net income was US$0.9 million, compared to non-GAAP(1) net income of US1.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Basic and diluted net loss per American Depositary Share ("ADS") were US$0.128 compared to basic and diluted net loss per ADS of US$0.060 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS were US$0.030, compared to basic and diluted non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS of US$0.038 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Deferred revenue and refundable fees balance was US$10.4 million, a 14.6% increase from the balance of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.

Fiscal Year 2011 Business and Financial Highlights:

Compared to the fiscal year 2010 results,

• Total course enrollments from continuing operations were 1,601,000, representing a 32.2% increase.
• Net revenues from continuing operations increased 27.6% to US$41.6 million.
• Gross profit from continuing operations increased 27.3% to US$21.9 million.
• Non-GAAP(1) gross profit from continuing operations increased 25.9% to US$23.9 million.
• Operational loss from continuing operations was US$0.6 million, compared to operating loss of US$0.6 million in fiscal 2010. Non-GAAP operating income from continuing operations was US$6.6 million, a 65.1% increase from fiscal 2010.
• Net loss increased 100.3% to US$3.8 million.
• Non-GAAP(1) net income increased 13.3% to US$5.2 million.
• Basic and diluted net loss per ADS were US$0.114, compared to basic and diluted net loss per ADS of US$0.055 for fiscal year 2010.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS were US$0.155 and US$0.154, respectively, compared to basic and diluted non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS of US$0.133, for fiscal year 2010.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, CDEL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "We concluded fiscal year 2011 with healthy fourth quarter results that exceeded our revenue guidance before adjusting for the revenue from a business unit that is to be discontinued within a year, capping a year of consistent execution on a financial and operational basis. Our fourth quarter results were supported by steady revenue growth across our core online education courses. We believe that the underlying demand for our core education services will remain strong, and we expect to see continuous growth in the year ahead.

First Quarter Fiscal 2012 Guidance -- Due to the typical seasonality pattern of our business, the fiscal first quarter is normally a weak quarter.

As such, CDEL expects to generate total net revenues in the range of US$8.5 million to US$9.0 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012 as compared to net revenues of US$7.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

We expect our fiscal year 2012 annual revenue from continuing operations to be between US$50 million and US$54 million, representing year-over-year growth of 20% to 30%. This represents our current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2011 Business and Financial Highlights:

• Total course enrollments were 324,400, an increase of 34.0% from the third quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Net revenues increased 22.7% over the third quarter of fiscal 2010 to US$12.7 million.
• Gross profit increased 21.8% over the third quarter of fiscal 2010 to US$7.3million.
• Gross profit margin was 57.6%, compared to 58.0% in the third quarter of fiscal 2010. Non-GAAP (1) gross margin excluding share-based compensation was 60.5%, compared to 62.1% in the same period of 2010.
• Net income was US$0.9 million, compared to net income of US$1.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Non-GAAP (1) net income excluding share-based compensation expenses and a $0.8 million of write-off arising from the purchased call option for acquisition of additional equity interest in Beijing Zhengbao Yucai Education Technology Co., Ltd., or Zhengbao Yucai, was US$2.7 million, compared to non-GAAP (1) net income of US$2.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") were US$0.028 compared to basic and diluted net income per ADS of US$0.037 for the third quarter of fiscal 2010. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP (1) net income per ADS excluding share-based compensation and a write-off arising from the purchased call option for acquisition of additional equity interest in Zhengbao Yucai, were US$0.083, compared to basic and diluted non-GAAP (1) net income per ADS of US$0.068 for the third quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Deferred revenue and refundable fees balance was US$12.6 million, a 21.9% increase from the third quarter of fiscal 2010 and a 7.6% decrease from the second quarter of fiscal 2011.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, CDEL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "We are pleased to report another quarter of top-line growth exceeding our guidance, supported by a steady increase in our core online education services net revenues. We are also pleased to see our non-GAAP net income for the third quarter increased year-over-year. These prove again that we are delivering on our commitment to execute our top- and bottom-line growth strategy."

"We have maintained a consistent focus throughout 2011 on the execution of our strategy to provide high quality, comprehensive, life-long online learning programs. This has included continued investments in our online learning platform, consistent focus on the quality of our courses and services, and extensive marketing and advertising campaigns to further strengthen our brand name. This investment in our growth has helped to bolster our reputation as a high quality, results oriented education services provider, supporting enrollment growth and allowing us to raise prices in our core online test preparation courses. We will continue to execute our balanced growth strategy, focusing on delivering quality courses and services, promoting our brand awareness, and seeking to delivering healthy top- and bottom-line growth for years to come."

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, commented, "We continue to strive for a balanced growth approach despite a generally inflationary environment, investing prudently in growth initiatives while maintaining tight cost control. The selective investments we have made, coupled with payroll inflation, resulted in heightened marketing and payroll related cost and expenses this quarter. However, our tight control over other expenses helped partially offset the impact. We believe such investments are necessary for the long-term health of our business and will eventually pay off."

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2011 Guidance - The Company expects to generate total net revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 in the range of US$12.7 million toUS$13.3 million, as compared to net revenues of US$11.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. This represents our current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

We believe that our current cash and cash equivalents, and anticipated cash flows from operations will be sufficient to meet our anticipated working capital requirements and capital expenditures for 12 months following the date of this annual report. Our online course platform can support significant growth in course enrollments and is easily adapted for the addition of new courses. We do, however, expect to spend money on the further development of our “Chinaacc” brand and other brands in the disciplines for which we offer courses. We do not expect our short-term and long-term cash requirements to be materially different.

Second Quarter Results:

• Net revenues increased 27.2% over the second quarter of fiscal 2010 to US$9.5 million.
• Gross profit increased 27.3% over the second quarter of fiscal 2010 to US$4.8 million.
• Gross profit margin was 50.8%, unchanged from 50.8% in the second quarter of fiscal 2010. Non-GAAP(1) gross margin excluding share-based compensation was 54.3%, compared to 55.4% in the same period of 2010.
• Net income was US$0.4 million, compared to net income of US$0.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2010.  
• Non-GAAP(1) net income excluding share-based compensation was US$1.4 million, compared to non-GAAP(1) net income of US$1.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2010.  
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") were US$0.013 compared to basic and diluted net income per ADS of US$0.006 for the second quarter of fiscal 2010.  Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS excluding share-based compensation were US$0.040, compared to basic and diluted non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS of US$0.031 for the second quarter of fiscal 2010.

First Quarter Fiscal 2011 Business and Financial Highlights:

• Total course enrollments were 510,000, an increase of 39.7% from the first quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Net revenues increased 40.0% over the first quarter of fiscal 2010 to US$7.8 million.
• Gross profit increased 88.9% from the first quarter of fiscal 2010 to US$3.5 million.
• Gross profit margin was 45.2%, compared to 33.5% in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. Non-GAAP(1) gross margin excluding share-based compensation was 50.2%, compared to 42.1% in the same period of 2010.
• Net loss was US$1.0 million, compared to net loss of US$1.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.  
• Non-GAAP(1) net income excluding share-based compensation and a write-off arising from the purchased call option for acquisition of additional equity interest in Zhejiang Champion Xinlixiang Education Management Co., Ltd., or Champion Xinlixiang, was US$0.1 million, compared to non-GAAP(1) net loss of US$0.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.  
• Basic and diluted net loss per American Depositary Share ("ADS") were US$0.030 compared to basic and diluted net loss per ADS of US$0.038, for the first quarter of fiscal 2010.  Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS excluding share-based compensation charge and the write-off of purchased call option for acquisition of additional equity interest in Champion Xinlixiang were US$0.004, compared to basic and diluted non-GAAP(1) net loss per ADS of US$0.005, for the first quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Deferred revenue and refundable fees balance was US$12.7 million, a 21.9% increase from the balance of US$10.4 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 and a 6.7% increase from the first quarter of fiscal 2010.  

Commenting on the results, Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, CDEL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "We are pleased to report strong results for the quarter which exceeded our own guidance, driven by the continued growth in online education services and better than expected cash collections from the sale of books and reference materials."

"We experienced steady enrollment growth across all verticals. In particular, enrollments in our self-taught higher education segment increased 167% year-over-year as we continued to expand the geographic reach of the program into more provinces. Our accounting vertical also delivered steady growth despite a soft demand environment for CPA and APQE courses, thanks to robust enrollment growth in our accounting continuous education courses.    

"In addition, we experienced healthy revenue contribution from some of our newer initiatives such as our K-12 after-school tutoring courses and our business start-up training program, Yucai. Our investments in Yucai have started to pay off. In December 2010, we announced the signing of three new contracts. In addition, sizable payments have started to come in for training and services provided.  We recorded some revenue for Yucai this quarter but more meaningful revenue contributions are expected in the coming quarters as we continue to prudently expand the program.  

"In conclusion, we are delighted with our solid performance in the quarter and the continuing development of our newer verticals.  We believe that our performance demonstrates the benefits of our unique business model which combines a robust and highly scalable IT and courseware platform with centralized processes such as marketing, distribution and student services, allowing for the rapid integration and rollout of new verticals and business lines.   We strongly believe that we are well positioned to drive further growth in the years ahead and we will continue to focus on executing on our growth initiatives."  

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, commented, "The fiscal first quarter is traditionally our lowest revenue quarter, and we typically generate net loss in the quarter on a non-GAAP basis. However, we delivered strong financial results this quarter, thanks to a solid performance across our main business lines and growing momentum behind our newer initiatives. Effective cash collections also contributed to our healthy cash flow in the quarter.  In the coming quarters, we expect to experience some inflationary impact on wages driven by macroeconomic conditions in China. Nevertheless, while we will continue to invest in the growth of our key strategic initiatives, we will continue to maintain tight cost controls."  

Second Quarter Fiscal 2011 Guidance — The Company expects to generate total net revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 in the range of US$8.6 million to US$9.4 million, as compared to net revenues of US$7.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2010. This represents our current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.  

Fiscal Third Quarter 2010 Unaudited Financial Results:

• Total net revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 were US$10.3 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 25.0% from US$8.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2009.
  
  
  • Online education services net revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 were US$6.3 million, an increase of 16.6% from the third quarter of fiscal 2009. The increase was a result of increased enrollment in accounting, healthcare and construction engineering courses.
    
  • Revenue from books and reference materials increased by 22.3% to US$1.3 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 due to the improvement in cash payment from customers.
    
  • Other revenues, primarily comprised of courseware production services, magazine content production services, offline information technology courses and related services, professional training for accounting firms, and revenue from Gaokao retake courses offered by the newly acquired Xinlixiang, increased 52.3% year-over-year to US$2.7 million for the fiscal third quarter of 2010 from US$1.8 million in the corresponding period of last year. 
    
• Net income was US$1.3 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2010, compared to net income of US$0.1 million in the same period of 2009.
  
• Excluding share-based compensation, non-GAAP(1) net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 was US$2.4 million, a 80.6% increase as compared to net income of US$1.3 million in the corresponding quarter in 2009.
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") were US$0.037 compared to basic and diluted net income per ADS of US$0.003, for the third quarter of fiscal 2009. Each ADS represents four
  ordinary shares.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS excluding share-based compensation charge were US$0.068, compared to basic and diluted non-GAAP(1) net income per ADS of US$0.037, for the third quarter of
  fiscal 2009.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, CDEL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "We are pleased to report healthy top- and bottom-line growth in the quarter, supported by strong enrollment increases in our healthcare and construction engineering verticals. We also continue to experience steady performance from our core accounting verticals, with enrollment increasing 21.3% year-over-year. In addition, we again generated meaningful revenue from the sale of books and reference materials, aided by an improvement in our cash collection.

"We made further progress during the quarter on our self-taught higher education vertical, where we have continued to gain acceptance by both students and government bodies, resulting in a 37.3% year-over-year enrollment increase. Together with the newly signed Hunan province contract, we believe the self-taught higher education segment will continue to grow at an accelerated pace going forward.

"Looking ahead, we expect the fourth quarter to be a transitional quarter. While we will continue to focus on our core online businesses, which remain solid, we expect to cease some of our initiatives under ITAT cooperation contracts, which include our sponsorship of the ITAT contest and provision of related online and offline training courses, after conducting a cost benefit analysis. Although this will have some impact on our revenue in the fourth quarter, it will allow us to remain focused on our core businesses that provide higher margins and exhibit stronger long-term growth potential."

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2010 Guidance

As CDEL will cease some of its initiatives under ITAT cooperation contracts, the Company expects to generate total net revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 in the range of US$10.2 million to US$11.2 million, as compared to net revenues of US$10.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. This represents our current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.