BEIJING, Dec. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- China Distance
Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: 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 (NYSE: 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.
Fact Sheet
To access CDEL's Company Fact Sheet, which provides further
details regarding China Distance Education, including investment
highlights, growth strategy, product and service offerings, and
summary financials, please click on the following link http://ir.cdeledu.com/upload/html/2017/12/06/suecd687629d92439991456934426a94b8.pdf.
Safe Harbor Statement
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 U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Among other things, our business
structure, strategic and operational plans, in particular our
strategic initiatives for accounting education extending Accounting
Ecosystem, expanding legal education market and college-focused
business, as well as the quotations from management and outlook of
the Company's development and strategic investments (in particular,
the anticipated benefits of our acquisition and strategic
investments such as the acquisition of 40% equity interest in
Beijing Ruida, acquisition of an 80% equity interest in Xiamen
NetinNet and its subsequent transaction with Zhengbao Yucai and
Zhengbao Yucai's investment in Hangzhou Wanting) contain
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
not historical facts, but instead are predictions about future
events. Future events are inherently uncertain, and our
forward-looking statements may turn out to be incorrect. The
forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of
the date on which they are made, and we assume no obligation to
update any forward-looking statements except as required by
law.
About China Distance Education Holdings Limited
China Distance Education Holdings Limited is a leading provider
of online education and value-added services for professionals and
corporate clients in China. The
courses offered by the Company through its websites are designed to
help professionals seeking to obtain and maintain professional
licenses and to enhance their job skills through our professional
development courses in China in
the areas of accounting, healthcare, engineering &
construction, and other industries. The Company also offers
professional education courses for participants in the national
judicial examination, online test preparation courses for
self-taught learners pursuing higher education diplomas or degrees,
test preparation courses for university students intending to take
the nationwide graduate school entrance exam, practical accounting
training courses for college students and working professionals, as
well as online language courses and third-party developed online
courses. In addition, the Company provides business services to
corporate clients, including but not limited to tax advisory and
accounting outsourcing services. For further information, please
visit http://ir.cdeledu.com.
Contacts:
China Distance
Education Holdings Limited
|
The Piacente
Group | Investor Relations
|
Investor Relations
Department
|
Brandi
Piacente
|
Tel: +86-10-8231-9999
ext 1805
|
Tel: +1
212-481-2050
|
Email:
IR@cdeledu.com
|
Email:
dl@tpg-ir.com
|
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-distance-education-holdings-limited-outlines-strategy-aimed-at-driving-future-growth-300567648.html
SOURCE China Distance Education Holdings Ltd