New Oriental (NYSE:EDU)

Third Quarter 2011 Results

• Total net revenues increased by 31.7% year-over-year to US$174.5 million from US$132.5 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Net income attributable to New Oriental decreased by 3.7% year-over-year to US$22.4 million from US$23.3 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to New Oriental, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, increased by 5.3% year-over-year to US$28.0 million from US$26.6 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Income from operations decreased by 21.8% year-over-year to US$16.6 million from US$21.2 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Non-GAAP income from operations, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, decreased by 9.6% year-over-year to US$22.2 million from US$24.6 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Basic and diluted net income attributable to New Oriental per ADS were US$0.14 and US$0.14, respectively. Non-GAAP basic and diluted net income per ADS, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, were US$0.18 and US$0.18, respectively. Each ADS represents one common share of the Company.
• Total student enrollments in academic subjects tutoring and test preparation courses increased by 21.6% year-over-year to approximately 596,100 from approximately 490,200 in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• The total number of schools and learning centers increased to 608 in the quarter ended February 29, 2012, up from 527 in the previous quarter. New Oriental built a net of 81 learning centers in the quarter.

Louis T. Hsieh, New Oriental's President and Chief Financial Officer, commented, "Our key growth drivers continued their strong momentum this quarter. First, our overseas test preparation programs recorded year-over-year enrollment growth of about 10% to approximately 80,500, and year-over-year gross revenue growth of over 26% to approximately US$55 million in this quarter. Second, our K-12 all-subjects after-school tutoring business recorded year-over-year enrollment growth of about 30% to over 371,500 and year-over-year gross revenue growth of approximately 48% to over US$69 million in this quarter. Third, our VIP personalized classes recorded the most rapid pace of growth, with year-over-year enrollment growth of more than 62% to over 25,500 and year-over-year cash revenue growth of over 73% to about US$53.5 million in this quarter. Finally, our Vision Overseas Study Consulting business continued to outperform, with year-over-year gross revenue growth of approximately 55% to over US$7 million in the third quarter."

Declaration of Special Cash Dividend

New Oriental's board of directors has declared a special cash dividend in the amount of US$0.30 per ADS. The cash dividend will be paid on September 29, 2012 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 31, 2012. The ex-dividend date will be August 29, 2012. The aggregate amount of cash dividends to be paid is approximately US$50 million, which will be funded by surplus cash on the New Oriental's balance sheet.

Second Quarter 2011 Results

• Total net revenues increased by 38.0% year-over-year to US$132.0 million from US$95.7 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Net income attributable to New Oriental increased by 80.5% year-over-year to US$3.3 million from US$1.8 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to New Oriental, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, increased by 46.0% year-over-year to US$7.5 million from US$5.2 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Loss from operations increased by 94.6% year-over-year to US$4.0 million from US$2.1 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Non-GAAP income from operations, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, decreased by 81.2% year-over-year to US$0.2 million from US$1.3 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Basic and diluted net income attributable to New Oriental per ADS were US$0.02 and US$0.02, respectively. Non-GAAP basic and diluted net income per ADS, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, were US$0.05 and US$0.05, respectively. Each ADS represents one common share of the Company.
• Total student enrollments in academic subjects tutoring and test preparation courses increased by 16.2% year-over-year to approximately 471,600 from approximately 405,800 in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Total number of schools and learning centers increased to 527 in the quarter ended November 30, 2011, up from 488 in the previous quarter. New Oriental built a net of 39 learning centers in the quarter.

Michael Yu, New Oriental's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "In the second quarter of the fiscal year, which is our seasonally slowest quarter, we posted solid revenue growth of 38.0% and even higher profit growth of 80.5% year-over-year. This is particularly pleasing considering we had very challenging comparables against last year's fiscal second quarter when we experienced a strong bounce back from the negative effect on our business due to the Shanghai World Expo in the summer of 2010 and recorded exceptionally strong revenue growth of over 56% and student enrollment growth of over 32%. In this fiscal quarter, by comparison, our student enrollments grew by 16.2% to about 471,600. To meet the continued strong market demand, especially in the K-12 after-school tutoring segment, during this quarter we opened a net of 39 learning centers in about 20 existing cities. More than half of these are small facilities of approximately 500 square meters or less, which is in line with our strategy to "fill in" the convenient locations in markets where we have a strong presence."

Mr. Yu continued, "Although spending on educational services remains resilient and demand for New Oriental's educational services, in particular, continues to be very strong in the face of a slowing Chinese economy, we do expect the early timing of this year's Chinese New Year festival, which falls on January 23, to have a negative impact on our net revenues and profits for our third fiscal quarter ending February 28, 2012. Since the festival falls earlier this year, the 2012 Chinese New Year winter holiday for school-aged students has been shortened by up to a week in most provinces, leaving students with less time to attend New Oriental classes. We experienced a similar situation in 2009 when Chinese New Year also fell early, on January 26. However, in 2009 we saw a very strong bounce back in the fourth fiscal quarter ending May 31, with revenues up approximately 48% and net income up approximately 50% as Chinese students preparing to take the college and high school entrance exams in early June returned to New Oriental to make up for the test prep classes normally taken during the winter break. We anticipate a similar effect this year, and we are hopeful of a strong rebound in New Oriental's business in our fiscal fourth quarter this year."

Louis T. Hsieh, New Oriental's President and Chief Financial Officer, commented, "We are delighted to record solid performances across each of our key business lines this quarter. First, our overseas test preparation programs recorded year-over-year gross revenue growth of over 52% to over US$43 million and year-over-year enrollment growth of about 1% to 74,200, despite difficult comparisons to the second quarter of the previous fiscal year when the post-Expo rebound drove enrollments up by 39%. Second, our K-12 all-subjects after-school tutoring business recorded year-over-year gross revenue growth of about 45% to over US$44 million and year-over-year enrollment growth of more than 33% to over 232,900. Third, our VIP personalized classes experienced the most rapid pace of growth, with year-over-year cash revenue growing by more than 52% to over US$45 million and year-over-year enrollments increasing by about 42% to over 20,100. Finally, our Vision Overseas Study Consulting business maintained strong momentum, with year-over-year revenue growth of over 90% to about US$3.8 million."

Outlook for Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2012

New Oriental expects its total net revenues in the third quarter of fiscal year 2012 (December 1, 2011, to February 29, 2012) to be in the range of US$168.3 million to US$176.2 million, representing year-over-year growth in the range of 27.0% to 33.0%. This revenue outlook reflects the anticipated negative impact on the Company's business of the early timing of Chinese New Year, which falls on January 23 this year. This forecast reflects New Oriental's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

First Quarter 2012 Results

BEIJING and HONG KONG, July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- New Oriental Education and Technology Group Inc. (the "Company" or "New Oriental") (NYSE:EDU - News), the largest provider of private educational services in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended May 31, 2011. The Company also announced that it will change the ratio of its American depositary shares ("ADSs") to Common Shares from one (1) ADS representing four (4) Common Shares to one (1) ADS representing one (1) Common Share, effective on August 18, 2011.

Third Quarter Results:

• Total net revenues increased by 48.6% year-over-year to US$132.5 million from US$89.2 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Net income attributable to New Oriental increased by 68.1% year-over-year to US$23.3 million from US$13.8 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to New Oriental, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, increased by 42.4% year-over-year to US$26.6 million from US$18.7 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Income from operations increased by 55.5% year-over-year to US$21.2 million from US$13.6 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year. Non-GAAP income from operations, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, increased by 32.8% year-over-year to US$24.6 million from US$18.5 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Basic and diluted net income attributable to New Oriental per ADS was US$0.61 and US$0.60, respectively. Non-GAAP basic and diluted net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, was US$0.69 and US$0.68, respectively. Each ADS represents four common shares of the Company.
• Total student enrollments in academic subjects tutoring and test preparation courses increased by 17.8% year-over-year to approximately 490,200 from approximately 416,000 in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
• Total number of schools and learning centers increased to 456 in the quarter ended February 28, 2011, up from 447 in the previous quarter. New Oriental established one school in Nantong city and a net of 8 learning centers in the quarter. The total number of schools increased to 52 and the total number of learning centers to 404 as of February 28, 2011.
• New Oriental expects its total net revenues in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011 (March 1, 2011 to May 31, 2011) to be in the range of US$114.3 million to US$118.6 million, representing year-over-year growth in the range of 32% to 37%. This forecast reflects New Oriental's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Louis T. Hsieh, New Oriental's President and Chief Financial Officer, stated, "Strong top line growth was primarily driven by the continued stellar performance of several key business lines, with year-over-year gross revenue growth rates of about 55% for overseas test preparation, about 133% for non-English U-Can all-subjects training and about 140% for VIP personalized instruction. First, our overseas test preparation segment maintained strong momentum with year-over-year enrollment growth of more than 33% to over 73,100 and year-over-year gross revenue growth of about 55% to about US$43.4 million in this quarter. We remain the dominant player in the overseas test preparation market in China with approximately US$152 million gross revenues and over 311,000 enrollments in the 12–month period ended February 28, 2011.

Preliminary Financial and Student Enrollments Results – First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2011

(US$ in Millions, except per ADS data, student enrollments and percentages)

GeoTeam® Note: Analysts had been exptecting EPS of $1.90

 "Although we experienced disappointing student enrollment growth of approximately 8% to approximately 700,000 enrollments for the summer quarter, we managed to achieve net revenues of approximately $192 million or revenue growth of approximately 29%, within our guidance range of 26% to 32% stated in the last earnings release," said Michael Yu, New Oriental's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "There are several reasons for the enrollments shortfall. Firstly, this year's summer break for Chinese students was about a week shorter than usual due to a relatively long winter break earlier this year to accommodate a late Chinese New Year. Secondly, the Shanghai World Expo adversely affected student enrollments in our Shanghai school which experienced a 6% decrease in enrollments, compared to an 11% increase in the summer of 2009, from approximately 68,000 enrollments last summer to approximately 64,000 enrollments this summer. We believe that thousands of students from outside Shanghai elected not to study in Shanghai this past summer in order to avoid the crowds visiting the Shanghai Expo and the associated elevated lodging and meal expenses. We further believe that of the estimated 20 million to 30 million school-aged students who did visit the Shanghai Expo this summer, many of them did so by deciding to spend their time and money at the Expo instead of enrolling in summer classes. Thirdly, we experienced a greater than expected decrease of 11% to approximately 110,000 in our adult English program enrollments this summer, compared to approximately 124,000 in the year ago period."

^a The above forecasts reflect the Company's current and preliminary views and are therefore subject to change. Please refer to the Company's Safe Harbor Statement (usually in press releases) for the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

^b Non-GAAP EPS figures generally exclude certain non-operating gains and losses as well as certain non-cash items. Non-GAAP information should not be viewed in isolation or as a substitute for reported, or GAAP information . For a more complete explanation of the company's definition of non-GAAP please refer to its financial press releases. The GeoTeam® non-GAAP figures may, from time to time, differ from company supplied figures.

'During the third quarter, the economic slowdown in China had a greater than anticipated effect on our adult English courses. To reflect our revised expectations, in mid-February 2009, we issued a press release adjusting our third fiscal quarter 2009 revenue guidance downwards.  As it turns out, adult English enrollments for the quarter were approximately 50,300, up slightly from approximately 50,100 in the year ago period, but below our prior expectations,' said Michael Yu, New Oriental's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. 'Furthermore, our financial results were negatively impacted by the early timing of Chinese New Year this year which occurred on January 26, 2009, almost two weeks earlier than last year. Despite these challenges, we are pleased to report revenue increased 36.1% year-over-year to $65.4 million, exceeding the top end of the revised guidance range. In addition, we are pleased that a strong bounce back in enrollments in February boosted total student enrollments in language training and test preparation courses for the quarter to about 351,700, an increase of 31% year-over-year.'

^a The above forecasts reflect the Company's current and preliminary views and are therefore subject to change. Please refer to the Company's Safe Harbor Statement (usually in press releases) for the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

Guidance Report:

Change in Third Quarter Fiscal 2009 Guidance Ending December

'The economic downturn in China has had a greater than anticipated effect on New Oriental's cash proceeds (cash collected from students in advance for course enrollments) over the past several weeks and we are therefore revising our third fiscal quarter 2009 revenue guidance downwards to reflect current expectations,' said Louis T. Hsieh, New Oriental's chief financial officer. 'We believe that this is a short term effect, as Chinese families place a high priority on spending for their children's education, behind only food and housing. As the trusted leader in China's private education market New Oriental should continue to benefit from these strong underlying fundamentals.'

Source: PR Newswire (February 12, 2009)