BEIJING, Nov. 11 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ATA Inc. ("ATA"
or the "Company") (NASDAQ:ATAI), the leading provider of
computer-based testing and testing-related services in China, today
announced its unaudited financial results for its fiscal second
quarter ended September 30, 2008 ("Second Quarter 2009"). Second
Quarter 2009 Highlights -- Net revenues increased by 3.9%
year-over-year to approximately RMB51.7 million (US$7.6 million).
-- Gross profit increased by 15.7% year-over-year to approximately
RMB34.4 million (US$5.1 million). -- Income from operations
decreased by 12.2% year-over-year to approximately RMB8.8 million
(US$1.3 million). -- Net income decreased by 10.3% year-over-year
to approximately RMB8.3 million (US$1.2 million). -- Net income
excluding share-based compensation expense and foreign currency
exchange gain (losses) (non-GAAP) was flat at approximately RMB9.7
million (US$1.4 million) year over year. -- Basic and diluted
earnings per common share were RMB0.18 (US$0.03) and RMB0.18
(US$0.03), respectively, and basic and diluted earnings per ADS
were RMB0.36 (US$0.06) and RMB0.36 (US$0.06), respectively. Basic
and diluted earnings per common share excluding share-based
compensation expense and foreign currency exchange gain (losses)
(non-GAAP) were RMB0.21 (US$0.03) and RMB0.21 (US$0.03),
respectively, and basic and diluted earnings per ADS excluding
share-based compensation expense and foreign currency exchange gain
(losses) (non-GAAP) were RMB0.41 (US$0.06) and RMB0.41 (US$0.06),
respectively. Each ADS represents two common shares of the Company.
-- For the quarter, ATA delivered approximately 1.5 million tests
which was flat compared to the same period last year. In addition,
average revenue per test decreased to RMB9.8 from RMB13.4 in the
same period last year because the China Banking Association tests
were not offered in second quarter 2009. "Our core business has
proven to be robust in this difficult global economic environment,
and on a comparable pro forma basis -- that is, adjusted for
changes to the scheduling of the China Banking Association test --
we continued to grow at a fast rate in the second quarter of fiscal
year 2009," said Kevin Ma, ATA's Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer. "Excluding the shift in timing of the China Banking
Association test which last year was offered in the quarter ended
September and this year was offered earlier, in the quarter ended
June, our pro-forma comparable revenue growth rate was
approximately 48% year over year. In addition, despite the
volatility in the China stock market, our securities market related
exam takers increased to approximately 220,000 this quarter
compared to 6,000 in the same quarter last year, underlying the
strong progress we have made developing this important vertical. As
we move forward, and in light of the worldwide financial crisis, we
believe regulators in China are increasingly focused on enhancing
regulation of the securities industry, and we expect them to
introduce new qualification requirements and enhance existing
professional qualification programs. However, near term challenges
in the financial sector are expected to impact our enterprise
customers' spending on recruitment and internal HR budgets. We are
therefore lowering our full fiscal year 2009 guidance in
anticipation of lower than expected revenues from these enterprise
customers in the near term. In addition, due to uncertainty as to
when the government will decide to outsource some large testing
contracts to us, we expect some delays in the launch of new exam
titles such as those for the accounting and legal professions. In
the long term we expect ATA will benefit from a tighter regulatory
environment and, as the market leader, with leading technology, a
solid track record and the capability to deploy nationwide
computer-based testing in China, we expect that ATA will continue
to enjoy growth across a number of our value drivers, including the
number of test titles, test takers and related services such as
test preparation and training." ATA's Chief Financial Officer, Carl
Yeung, stated, "We are pleased to meet our guidance for the second
quarter while at the same time expand our gross margin as a result
of a more favorable business mix. Excluding the impact from the
shift in timing of China Banking Association exams, we enjoyed
revenue growth in the financial industry vertical to RMB8.3 million
from RMB0.4 million, as we successfully introduced the new Fund
Sales Professional Qualification test title, offered by the
Securities Association of China. Our financial performance also
reflects the consistent execution of our strategy set earlier this
year, as we continued to de-emphasize our test-based education
services while focusing on growing our higher margin businesses
such as test preparation and training. As a result of our strategic
focus, our online test preparation and training for the financial
sector delivered very attractive revenue growth of approximately
377% year-over-year as we worked with the Securities Association of
China to track licensed professionals and encourage them to comply
with their continuous professional training requirements. Our
operating profit in the quarter was lower than the comparable
period last year as we increased R&D expenditure to develop two
new test services in the areas of enterprise HR and English
learning markets, which we expect to launch early next year. We
believe these new services will diversify our revenue base from the
financial testing market and further enhance our long term
sustainable growth potential in the years ahead." Financial Results
for the Second Quarter 2009 For the Second Quarter 2009, net
revenues were RMB51.7 million (US$7.6 million), representing a 3.9%
increase year-over-year. Net revenues from testing services
decreased 33.7% year-over-year to RMB14.2 million (US$2.1 million).
Net revenues from test-based education services increased 7.2% year
over year to RMB11.0 million (US$1.6 million) while net revenues
from test preparation and training solutions experienced a 33.0%
increase year over year to RMB21.2 million (US$3.1 million). Other
revenues, which include testing related marketing services, test
development services and others, increased 140.0% to RMB5.4 million
(US$0.8 million). The overall number of tests the Company delivered
decreased by 9.2% year-over-year to approximately 1.5 million in
the Second Quarter 2009, while the average revenue per test
delivered dropped to RMB9.8 from RMB13.4 in the same period of
fiscal year 2008. This decrease in average revenue per test was due
to the absence of the higher value China Banking Association tests
in this quarter. Excluding the impact from the difference in timing
of China Banking Association's tests, the number of tests delivered
grew 4.5% while average revenue per test increased to RMB9.8
compared to RMB4.7 in the second quarter of fiscal year 2008. Gross
profit increased by 15.7% year-over-year to approximately RMB34.4
million (US$5.1 million) from RMB29.7 million in the same period
last year. Gross margin increased to 66.5% in the Second Quarter
2009 from 59.7% in the same period last year, driven by higher
contribution from the Company's more profitable testing services,
test preparation and training solutions as a percentage of total
net revenues. Operating expenses increased by 29.8% year-over-year
to RMB25.6 million (US$3.8 million) from RMB19.7 million in the
same period last year, primarily due to an increase in general and
administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses
increased by 28.6% to RMB13.9 million (US$2.0 million), primarily
as a result of the increase in share-based compensation and bad
debt expenses. Sales and marketing expenses increased by 12.0% to
RMB6.9 million (US$1.0), primarily due to an increase in accrued
bonuses and share-based compensation in the quarter. Research and
development expenses increased by 74.7% year-over-year to RMB4.8
million (US$0.7 million) from RMB2.7 million in the same period
last year, primarily due to the research and development expenses
related to two new test services expected to be launched in early
next year. Income from operations for the Second Quarter 2009
decreased by 12.2% year over year to approximately RMB8.8 million
(US$1.3 million) from RMB10.0 million. Operating margin was 17.0%
in the Second Quarter 2009 compared to 20.1% in the same period
last year. Net income for the Second Quarter 2009 decreased by
10.3% to approximately RMB8.3 million (US$1.2 million), including a
RMB2.0 million non-recurring government refund, from RMB9.3 million
year over year. Basic and diluted earnings per common share were
RMB0.18 (US$0.03) and RMB0.18 (US$0.03), respectively, and basic
and diluted earnings per ADS were RMB0.36 (US$0.06) and RMB0.36
(US$0.06), respectively. Net income excluding share-based
compensation expense and foreign currency exchange gain (non-GAAP)
was RMB9.7 million (US$1.4 million) for the Second Quarter 2009.
Basic and diluted earnings per ADS excluding share-based
compensation expense and foreign currency exchange gain (non-GAAP)
were RMB0.41 (US$0.06) and RMB0.41 (US$0.06), respectively. A
reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures is provided elsewhere
in this release. Other Operating Data As of September 30, 2008, ATA
had 1,895 authorized test centers located throughout China. The
number of weighted average ADSs used to calculate basic and diluted
earnings per ADS for the quarter ended September 30, 2008 were 22.8
million and 23.6 million respectively. Each ADS represents two
common shares. ATA had 45.7 million common shares outstanding as of
September 30, 2008. Third Quarter 2009 and Full Year Fiscal Year
2009 Guidance For the fiscal third quarter 2009, ATA forecasts net
revenues will be in the range of RMB105 million to RMB115 million,
representing year-over-year growth in the range of 58% to 73%. ATA
expects that net revenues for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009
will be in the range of RMB300 million to RMB310 million, which
would represent 74% to 80% growth over fiscal year 2008. In this
respect, ATA is lowering its full year guidance as the Company
believes that recent contracts signed with enterprise customers,
such as large commercial banks, may generate lower than expected
revenues due to delayed execution of these projects along with
tightening of such customers' budgets in response to the
unfavorable global economic environment. In addition, although ATA
remains on track to secure several large scale new exams, such as
testing for the accounting and legal professions, deployment of
these new test titles within fiscal year 2009 has become less
probable. ATA does not expect these delays in the ramp-up of
enterprise contracts and the deployment of new exam titles to have
an impact on its margin structure, which is expected to remain at
current levels, or to improve, due to a favorable mix of
businesses. This is ATA's current and preliminary view, which is
subject to change. Our results of operations for the Second Quarter
2009 are not necessarily indicative of our operating results for
any future periods. Conference Call The Company will host a
conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET on November 11, 2008, to discuss
the results for the Second Quarter 2009. Joining Kevin Ma, CEO of
ATA Inc., will be Walter Wang, Director and President, and Carl
Yeung, Chief Financial Officer. To participate in the conference
call, please dial +1-800-561-2813 five to ten minutes prior to the
scheduled conference call time and mention the passcode 50797651.
International callers should dial +1-617-614-3529, and mention the
pass code 50797651. If you are unable to participate in the call at
this time, a replay will be available on November 11, 2008 at 11:00
a.m. ET, through November 17, 2008. To access the replay, dial
+1-888-286-8010, international callers should dial +1-617-801-6888,
and enter the pass code 26025304. This conference call will be
broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed by all
interested parties on ATA Inc.'s website at http://www.ata.net.cn/
. To listen to the live webcast, please go to ATA Inc.'s website at
least fifteen minutes prior to the start of the call to register,
download, and install any necessary audio software. For those
unable to participate during the live broadcast, a replay will be
available shortly after the call on ATA Inc.'s website for 90 days.
About ATA Inc. ATA is the leading provider of computer-based
testing services in China. The Company offers comprehensive
services for the creation and delivery of computer-based tests
based on its proprietary testing technologies and test delivery
platform. The Company's computer-based testing services are used
for professional licensure and certification tests in various
industries, including information technology, or IT, services,
banking, teaching, securities, insurance and accounting. ATA's test
center network comprised 1,895 authorized test centers located
throughout China as of September 30, 2008, which the Company
believes is the largest test center network of any commercial
testing service provider in China. Combined with its test delivery
technologies, this network allows ATA's clients to administer
large-scale nationwide tests in a consistent, secure and
cost-effective manner. ATA has delivered over 26 million tests
including 16 million billable tests since it commenced operations
in 1999, and in June 2008 delivered tests to approximately 470,000
test takers over a single weekend for the China Banking Association
through its test delivery platform. For further information, please
visit: http://www.ata.net.cn/ . Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-looking Statements This announcement contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as
"look forward to," "outlook," "forecast," "will," "expect,"
"anticipate," "future," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate" and
similar terminology and include, among other things, the Company's
guidance relating to anticipated financial and operating results
for the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2008 and the fiscal year
ending March 31, 2009. Among the factors that could cause the
Company's actual financial and operating results to differ from
what the Company currently anticipate may include the Company's
ability to meet challenges associated with its rapid expansion, the
Company's ability to meet the expectations of current and future
clients, the Company's ability to deploy new test titles, the
Company's ability to win new enterprise contracts, the Company's
ability to convert its existing enterprise contracts into actual
revenue, the Company's ability to implement and maintain effective
internal controls over financial reporting, the health of the PRC
economy, and uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal and
regulatory environments. The financial information contained in
this release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated
financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company's
annual report on Form 20-F for its fiscal year ended March 31,
2008, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission on August 28, 2008 and is available on the Securities
and Exchange Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov/. For
additional information on these and other important factors that
could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results
of operations and prospects, see the "Risk Factors" section of the
Company's Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008. The
forward-looking statements in this release involve known and
unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current
expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the
Company and the markets in which it operates. The Company
undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements,
which speak only of the Company's views as of the date of this
release, to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, or to
changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law.
Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in
these forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot
assure you that its expectations will turn out to be correct, and
investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially
from the anticipated results. About Non-GAAP Financial Measures To
supplement ATA's consolidated financial information presented in
accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles
("GAAP"), ATA uses the following measures defined as non-GAAP
financial measures by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:
net income excluding share-based compensation expenses and foreign
currency exchange gain (losses) and basic and diluted earnings per
ADS excluding share-based compensation expenses and foreign
currency exchange gain (losses). The presentation of these non-GAAP
financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or
as a substitute for the financial information prepared and
presented in accordance with GAAP. For more information on these
non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned
"Unaudited reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most
comparable GAAP measures" set forth at the end of this release. ATA
believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful
supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity by
excluding share-based compensation expenses and foreign currency
exchange gain (losses), which may not be indicative of its
operating performance from a cash perspective. ATA believes that
both management and investors benefit from these non-GAAP financial
measures in assessing its performance and when planning and
forecasting future periods. These non-GAAP financial measures also
facilitate management's internal comparisons to ATA's historical
performance and liquidity. ATA computes its non-GAAP financial
measures using a consistent method from quarter to quarter. ATA
believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors
in allowing for greater transparency with respect to supplemental
information used by management in its financial and operational
decision making. A limitation of using non-GAAP net income
excluding share-based compensation expenses and basic and diluted
earnings per share and per ADS excluding share-based compensation
expenses is that share-based compensation charges have been and are
expected to continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant
recurring expense in ATA's business. Management compensates for
these limitations by providing specific information regarding the
GAAP amounts excluded from each non-GAAP measure. The accompanying
table captioned "Reconciliations of Non-GAAP measures to the most
comparable GAAP measures" set forth at the end this release, has
more details on the reconciliations between GAAP financial measures
that are most directly comparable to the non-GAAP financial
measures used by ATA. Currency Convenience Translation The
Company's financial information is stated in RMB. The translation
of RMB amounts for the Second Quarter 2009 into United States
dollars is included solely for the convenience of readers and has
been made at the rate of RMB6.7899 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate
as of September 30, 2008 in the City of New York for cable
transfers in RMB per US dollar as certified for customs purposes by
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Such translations should not
be construed as representations that RMB amounts could be converted
into US dollar at that rate or any other rate, or to be the amounts
that would have been reported under US GAAP. For further
information, please contact: ATA Inc. Carl Yeung, CFO Tel:
+86-10-6518-1122 ext 5107 Email: CCG Elite Investor Relations
Crocker Coulson, President Tel: +1-646-213-1915 Email: Ed Job, CFA
Tel: +1-646-213-1914 Email: ATA INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS March 31, September 30,
September 30, 2008 2008 2008 ASSETS Current assets: Cash
332,196,672 345,956,480 50,951,631 Accounts receivable, net
63,502,408 78,680,650 11,587,895 Inventories 2,951,966 2,351,069
346,260 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 4,657,608
9,078,451 1,337,052 Total current assets 403,308,654 436,066,650
64,222,838 Property and equipment, net 10,668,300 12,307,025
1,812,549 Goodwill 6,880,123 6,880,123 1,013,288 Other assets
15,776,667 18,158,657 2,674,363 Total assets 436,633,744
473,412,455 69,723,038 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Current
liabilities: Accrued expenses and other payables 29,822,313
43,933,676 6,470,445 Deferred revenues 36,707,916 37,972,651
5,592,520 Total current liabilities 66,530,229 81,906,327
12,062,965 Deferred revenues 7,025,971 6,233,527 918,059 Total
liabilities 73,556,200 88,139,854 12,981,024 Shareholders' equity:
Common shares: 3,656,210 3,503,619 516,005 Treasury shares
(16,106,940) -- -- Receivable from shareholders -- (5,226,173)
(769,698) Additional paid-in capital 498,374,024 498,120,764
73,362,018 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (7,933,512)
(17,006,211) (2,504,634) Accumulated deficit (114,912,238)
(94,119,398) (13,861,677) Total shareholders' equity 363,077,544
385,272,601 56,742,014 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity
436,633,744 473,412,455 69,723,038 Three-month Period Ended
September 30, June 30, September 30, September 30, 2007 2008 2008
2008 RMB RMB RMB USD Net revenues 49,778,999 68,331,931 51,696,431
7,613,725 Testing services 21,383,383 53,885,098 14,175,165
2,087,684 Test-based educational services 10,201,565 11,024,193
10,937,400 1,610,834 Test preparation and training solutions
15,956,775 508,088 21,215,476 3,124,564 Other revenue 2,237,276
2,914,552 5,368,390 790,643 Cost of revenues 20,060,241 29,163,638
17,321,775 2,551,109 Gross profit 29,718,758 39,168,293 34,374,656
5,062,616 Operating expenses: Research and development 2,735,526
3,287,178 4,778,038 703,698 Sales and marketing 6,166,789 5,961,055
6,908,588 1,017,480 General and administrative 10,815,611
12,218,300 13,911,591 2,048,866 Total operating expenses 19,717,926
21,466,533 25,598,217 3,770,044 Income from operations 10,000,832
17,701,760 8,776,439 1,292,572 Gain from sale of an affiliate
2,837,451 -- -- -- Subsidy income -- -- 2,000,000 294,555 Interest
income 149,365 190,472 61,664 9,082 Foreign currency exchange gain
(losses), net (94,307) 609,647 135,115 19,899 Earnings before
income taxes 12,893,341 18,501,879 10,973,218 1,616,108 Income tax
expense (3,592,213) (6,054,172) (2,628,085) (387,058) Net income
9,301,128 12,447,707 8,345,133 1,229,050 Basic earnings per common
share 0.42 0.28 0.18 0.03 Diluted earnings per common share 0.25
0.27 0.18 0.03 Basic earnings per ADS 0.84 0.56 0.36 0.06 Diluted
earnings per ADS 0.50 0.54 0.36 0.06 Three-month Period Ended
September 30, September 30, 2007 2008 RMB RMB GAAP net income
9,301,128 8,345,133 Share-based compensation expenses 496,705
1,447,324 Foreign currency exchange (gain) losses, net 94,307
(135,115) Non-GAAP net income 9,892,140 9,657,342 GAAP earnings per
ADS: Basic 0.84 0.36 Diluted 0.50 0.36 Share-based compensation
expenses per ADS: Basic 0.05 0.06 Diluted 0.03 0.06 Foreign
currency exchange (gain) losses per ADS: Basic 0.01 (0.01) Diluted
0.01 (0.01) Non-GAAP earnings per ADS: Basic 0.90 0.41 Diluted 0.54
0.41 Non-GAAP earnings per common share: Basic 0.45 0.21 Diluted
0.27 0.21 DATASOURCE: ATA Inc. CONTACT: ATA Inc., Carl Yeung, CFO,
+86-10-6518-1122 ext 5107, or CCG Elite Investor Relations, Crocker
Coulson, President, +1- 646-213-1915, and Ed Job, CFA,
+1-646-213-1914, Web site: http://www.ata.net.cn/
Copyright
ATAI Life Sciences NV (NASDAQ:ATAI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
ATAI Life Sciences NV (NASDAQ:ATAI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024