BEIJING, June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- ChinaEdu
Corporation (NASDAQ: CEDU) ("ChinaEdu" or the "Company"), a
leading online education services provider in China, today announced the filing of its
annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2010, which includes the Company's
audited financial statements, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). An electronic copy of the filing is now
accessible on the Company's website at http://ir.chinaedu.net or on
the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
ChinaEdu will provide a hard copy of the annual report
containing its audited consolidated financial statements, free of
charge, to its shareholders and ADS holders upon request.
Additionally, the Company released the following letter from
chief executive officer, Julia
Huang, to the Company's shareholders.
To the Shareholders of ChinaEdu Corporation:
The close of 2010 marked our third anniversary as a publicly
listed company and each year in business leaves our team even more
excited to be in this market than we were the year before. As a
management team, we are as committed to and enthusiastic about the
long-term success of the company as we were when we established
operations in 1999.
Three factors give us confidence in our ability to deliver the
long-term results expected by our shareholders.
Spending Power -- When we incorporated in 1999, the
average urban household income in China was RMB1,532 per month. In 2010, it topped
RMB4,618 per month. With larger
disposable incomes, young families are looking for outlets to
spend. While differing from the previous generations in terms of
their affinity for spending, this generation carries over the
pervasive Chinese convention of prioritizing spending on children
foremost, particularly spending on education. Furthermore, spending
on education is not limited to the private sector. In 2010, the
Ministry of Education (MOE) began to grant special funding to
provinces to help cover the costs of continuing education for
teachers. Funding by the central government in 2010 amounted to
RMB550 million and additional funding
was provided by provincial and local governments. Private
households and the education system itself are looking for programs
like the ones offered by ChinaEdu to meet their education
needs.
Infrastructure -- Development in technology
infrastructure since we incorporated over ten years ago has been
unprecedented. China now has close
to a half billion internet users and is the world's second largest
market for e-commerce. While our high-end programs target the
offline market, our highly scalable web-based products are focused
on the mass market. No longer restricted to the slow and faulty
dial-up connections of the 1990s, today's internet users have
access to Wifi and 3G across China.
Along with increasingly convenient access to the internet,
delivery platforms have become more personal, portable and
interactive. Particularly for children, teenagers and young adults,
newly available smart phones and tablets allow a level of
engagement that has never before been seen and our development
teams constantly evaluate the market for emerging needs to guide
our efforts to update and upgrade our web-based offerings.
Management
Our Chief Operating Officer, Shawn
Ding, and I have always felt strongly that opportunities in
this industry are plentiful, but can only be effectively leveraged
by the best managers. A combination of academic credentials,
creativity and actual experience rounds out our management team. We
work closely with our managers to set performance goals and allow
them to endeavor to make their business lines successful. We
believe our multiple growing business lines, supported by a
favorable economic environment and growing infrastructure, will
define the value of the company and that the financial achievements
thereof will drive our stock price.
I would also like to make a few comments on the performance of
our business lines in 2010.
Online Degree Programs
Our online degree program continues to make steady progress in
adding university partners. In 2010, we added partners that are
licensed to offer online degree programs and have also added
partners with approvals pending that will contribute to future
revenue. Through our constant communications with the MOE, we are
encouraged by feedback that online education is becoming more
important from the government's perspective. Throughout the year,
we have focused on improvements in technology, content and teaching
quality. We believe these improvements, measures and controls will
be key to continuing to grow the ChinaEdu brand.
Online Non-Degree Programs
We have also continued to grow as planned in online tutoring for
K to12 students. In addition to growth driven by marketing and
sales programs for existing products, we have also increased our
investment in the team and product development. We are confident
that these new products and initiatives will see even better
performance in 2012 and 2013.
Offline Programs
We continued to see strong growth in our private schools, driven
by increased enrollment and rising tuition. In the fourth quarter
of 2010, revenue from private schools grew 17% over the previous
quarter and 34% year-over-year. Great attention has been paid to
teaching quality and promotion of the private schools' brand names.
As reported during 2010, complementary offline tutoring programs
have been established by leveraging the brand names and facilities
of existing schools.
Towards the end of 2010, we created a new model for
international programs that appears to be on a strong growth
trajectory thus far. The new model and new team aims to meet the
needs of Chinese high school students wishing to study abroad in
the United States. Our
international programs division plans to be the first mover of
scale in this space in China.
Our elite programs address academics, extracurricular activities
such as music, art and athletics as well as English language and
social skill preparation for students in grades 1-9 who plan to
study abroad in the future. In line with our full spectrum of
educational offerings, I am confident that rising levels of
disposable income combined with an overall desire for children to
be prepared academically, linguistically and socially for global
exposure will drive growth in our elite programs.
When I returned to China 1999,
I had two goals. I wanted to create a company built on a scalable
model that would be financially successful and I wanted to embark
on a career that would change lives for the better. Years later,
our company's mission is to change the fundamentals of learning in
China from a teacher centric,
classroom-based learning experience to one that facilitates
interactive learning and engages students who are thereby able to
experience the joys of learning. We care deeply about helping
individuals reach their educational goals to maximize their
potential.
While our online degree programs are growing and profitable, to
realize the financial goals of our company, we must look beyond
online degree programs. Investment in these types of new
initiatives might cause short-term pressure on our margins in 2011,
but we are confident that when these businesses begin to contribute
revenues, we will see our margins return to or exceed previous
levels. We are excited to be in the rapid-growing education market
in China, with a strong reputation
and established credibility.
Thank you for joining us on this mission.
Sincerely,
Julia Huang
Chief Executive Officer
About ChinaEdu
ChinaEdu Corporation is an educational services provider in
China, incorporated as an exempted
limited liability company in the Cayman
Islands. Established in 1999, the Company's primary business
is to provide comprehensive services to the online degree programs
of leading Chinese universities. These services include academic
program development, technology services, enrollment marketing,
student support services and finance operations. The Company's
other lines of businesses include the operation of private primary
and secondary schools, online interactive tutoring services and
providing marketing, support for international curriculum programs
and online learning community for adult students.
The Company believes it is the largest service provider to
online degree programs in China in
terms of the number of higher education institutions that are
served and the number of student enrollments supported. The Company
currently has 19 long-term contracts that generally vary from 10 to
50 years in length. ChinaEdu also performs recruiting services for
21 universities through our nationwide learning center network.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, including certain plans, expectations, goals, and
projections, which are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and
uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond
our control which may cause actual results, levels of activity,
performance or achievements to differ materially from any future
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed
or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company's actual
results could differ materially from those contained in the
forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including
those described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's
Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2010, and in documents subsequently
filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Unless required by law, the Company undertakes
no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to)
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
For investor and media
inquiries, please contact:
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Helen Plummer
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Senior Investor Relations
Coordinator
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ChinaEdu Corporation
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Phone: +86
13911672124
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E-mail: helen@chinaedu.net
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Jin Yu
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Investor Relations
Manager
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ChinaEdu Corporation
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Phone: +86
15711096022
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E-mail: jinyu@chinaedu.net
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SOURCE ChinaEdu Corporation