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China Distance Education Holdings Limited Announces Results of Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

BEIJING, Aug. 28, 2020 — 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 announced that it held its 2020 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders ("2020 AGM") on August 28, 2020. Each of the proposals submitted for shareholder approval at the 2020 AGM has been approved. Specifically, the shareholders have passed resolutions approving:

  1. Re-election of Carol Yu and Liankui Hu as class C directors of the Company.
  2. Approval and ratification of (i) re-appointment of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP as the Company’s independent auditor for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020; and (ii) authorization to the board of directors and its audit committee to determine the remuneration of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP.

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, legal and other industries. The Company also offers online test preparation courses for self-taught learners pursuing higher education diplomas or degrees, and practical accounting training courses for college students and working professionals. 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:

In China:

China Distance Education Holdings Limited
Jiao Jiao
Tel: +86-10-8231-9999 ext. 1826
Email: IR@cdeledu.com

The Piacente Group, Inc.
Xi Zhang
Tel: +86-10-6508-0677
E-mail: dl@tpg-ir.com

In the United States:

The Piacente Group, Inc.
Brandi Piacente
Tel: +1 212-481-2050
Email: dl@tpg-ir.com

Vehicle Displays & Interfaces Virtual Technical Symposium & Expo to Provide a First Look at the Future of the Vehicle-to-Human Interface

Society for Information Display (SID) Metropolitan Detroit Chapter Annual Meeting Sidelined by Pandemic to Now Take Place for a Global Engineering Virtual Only Audience October 14-15, 2020 and On Demand Until February 15, 2021

DETROIT, Aug. 27, 2020 — The Metropolitan Detroit Chapter of the Society for Information Display (SID) is pleased to announce the 27th Annual Vehicle Displays & Interfaces Symposium & Expo will take place in a virtual-only format Wednesday and Thursday October 14-15, 2020, for the benefit of multi-disciplined and multi-international OEM teams and specialists composed of designers, engineers, scientists, technologists, researchers, and system integrators of land, air, sea, and space vehicle displays.

The SID Metropolitan Detroit Chapter recognizes that in the high-tech 4th Industrial Revolution a strong technical understanding of new and emerging Display 3.0 technologies is essential to the global success of engineers, display specialists and executives who design, manufacture, sell and buy vehicle displays, display components, services, and products that integrate display and visual information technology into vehicles. 

In the 2020-decade, the rapid evolution and divergence of visual information technologies continues on pace to connect humankind with their land, air, sea and space vehicles, and their vehicles to them.

"This year’s technical program underscores how the future of electronic vehicle displays resides in the confluence of new and emerging sciences, materials, form factors and technological advances in hardware, software, sensors, systems, components and applications." – Silviu Pala, SID Symposium Chair

The two-day Vehicle Displays & Interfaces October event gives registrants an opportunity for in-depth learning and valuable insights from keynote and back-to-back technical presentations from globally recognized scientists, tech visionaries, thought leaders and researchers presenting leading-edge science and R&D, with leading value-add suppliers providing solutions to global supply chains from pandemic disruption. Registrants can conduct online Q&A with speakers in ‘chat,’ as well as move projects forward by arranging real-time ‘private chat’ sessions with expert exhibitor technical staff.

The 2020 online technical program features distinguished speaker presentations from the global display, HMI, vehicle systems, photonics, academic and vehicle OEM communities. Peer-reviewed papers provide in-depth knowledge and insights on the latest scientific advances, most recent breakthroughs, and potentially revolutionary applications.

TECHNICAL PROGRAM SEGMENTS, TOPICS AND SPEAKERS FROM US, ASIA, EUROPE

Displays and HMI Systems:

  • Reflection Properties of AR Coated Flat and AG Glass Surfaces
    Dave McLean, MAC Thin Films, Santa Rosa, CA, US
  • IOT Intelligent Display Technology
    Lingling Zhang, Tianma, Shanghai, China
  • Display Module with Integrated Driver of Multi-screen
    Liang Zhou, Tianma, Shanghai, China
  • High Precision Optical Bonding for Free-form and Curved Displays
    Gino Mariani, Henkel Surface Technologies, Madison Heights, MI, US

Head-Up Displays:

  • Diffusive Microlens Array for Head-Up Display Applications
    Jerry Wu, Dexerials Corporation, Tagajo-shi, Japan
  • Human Perception Studies of Head-Up Display Ghosting
    Steve Pankratz, 3M Display Materials and Systems Division, St. Paul, MN, US
  • Computational Holographic Displays for 3D AR HUD Using Free-Form Optics
    Hakan Urey, CY Vision, San Jose, CA, US
  • Holographic Optical Elements and Projector Design Considerations for Automotive Windshield Displays
    Michael Firth, CERES Holographics, St. Andrews, Scotland, UK

Tutorial:
Drs. Kai-Han Chang and Thomas Seder from GM R&D will deliver a presentation entitled ‘Holography and Its Automotive Applications: A Tutorial’

Display Metrology:                          

  • Understanding and Achieving Reproducible Sparkle Measurements for an Automotive Specification
    Ingo Rotscholl, TechnoTeam Bildverarbeitung GmbH, Ilmenau, Germany
  • Measuring MicroLEDs for Color Non-Uniformity Correction
    Mike Naldrett, ELDIM, Radiant Vision Systems LLC, Redmond, Washington, US

New Display Solutions:

  • Supervising (Automotive) Displays for Safe Visualization of Camera Video
    Benjamin Axmann, Mercedes-Benz Cars Group Research, Future Technologies, Boeblingen, Germany
  • Customized Local Dimming Algorithm and BLU for Automotive Application towards Low Power Consumption and High Visual Quality
    Maxim Schmidt, Institute of Microelectronics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany 
  • Automotive Smart Surfaces: Conformable HDR Displays and Smart Windows to Activate Almost Any Surface
    Paul Cain, FlexEnable, Cambridge, UK
  • The Functional Safety Designs of Vehicle Display Driver ICs
    Cheng-Chih Deno, Himax, Hsinchu City, Taiwan
  • Automotive Dual Cell microZone™LCD Development
    Paul Weindorf, Visteon Corporation, Van Buren TWP, MI, US
  • A Low-power Transflective TFT-LCD Based on IGZO TFT
    Lou Tenggang, Tianma Micro-Electronics Group, Shanghai, China
  • A Micro LED Device With 0mm Border
    TengGang Lou, Tianma Micro-Electronics Group, Shanghai, China
  • Enabling Features of VueReal MicroLED Technology for Automotive Applications
    Rexa Chaji, VueReal Inc, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
  • New Challenges and Testing Solutions for Flexible Vehicle Displays & Interfaces
    Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Bayflex Solutions, Alameda, CA, US
  • New Material Solutions for Automotive Displays. Interfaces and Applications
    Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Bayflex Solutions, Alameda, CA, US 
  • An Alternative to OLED with Full-array Local Dimming in Automotive Displays
    Logan Cummins, Texas Instruments, Dallas, TX, US

Post-Event On Demand Viewing:
Registrants can view symposium presentations and virtual exhibitor booth content and videos anyplace, anytime, any time zone on demand until February 15, 2021.

Links:
To review the symposium program and exhibitor list, go to www.VehicleDisplay.org
To register, go to www.VehicleDisplay.org.
To secure a virtual exhibitor booth or sponsorship opportunity contact Joe Nemchek at jnemchek.@pcm411, or call (203) 502-8338.

About SID Vehicle Displays & Interfaces Detroit Symposium & Expo:
The SID Vehicle Displays & Interfaces Symposium & Expo Detroit is presented by the Metro-Detroit Chapter of SID (Society for Information Display) www.SID.org. SID is the only professional society focused on the advancement of electronic display and visual information technologies. By exclusively focusing on the advancement of electronic display and visual information technologies, SID provides a unique platform for industry collaboration, communication and training in all related technologies while showcasing the industry’s best new products. The organization’s members are professionals in the technical and business disciplines that relate to display research, design, manufacturing, applications, marketing and sales.

China Distance Education Holdings Limited Reports Financial Results for Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2020

– Third Quarter 2020 Net Revenue was $50.7 Million, within Guidance Range –

– Third Quarter 2020 Gross Profit was $24.1 Million, with Gross Margin of 47.5% –

– Third Quarter 2020 Operating Income was $2.5 Million, with Operating Margin of 4.9% –

– Third Quarter 2020 Net Income Attributable to CDEL was $3.0 Million, with Net Income Margin of 5.9% –

BEIJING, Aug. 27, 2020 — 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 announced unaudited financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 ended June 30, 2020.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2020 Financial and Operational Highlights

  • Net revenue decreased by 17.9% to $50.7 million from $61.7 million in the prior year period.
  • Total course enrollments were 738,300, an increase of 0.5% from the third quarter of fiscal 2019.
  • Cash receipts from online course registration were $34.6 million, a 31.3% decrease from the third quarter of fiscal 2019.
  • Gross profit decreased by 22.8% to $24.1 million from $31.2 million in the prior year period.
  • Non-GAAP[1] gross profit decreased by 22.7% to $24.1 million from $31.2 million in the prior year period.
  • Gross margin was 47.5%, compared with 50.5% in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] gross margin was 47.5%, compared with 50.5% in the prior year period.
  • Operating income decreased by 75.0% to $2.5 million from $9.9 million in the prior year period.
  • Non-GAAP[1] operating income decreased by 69.6% to $3.2 million from $10.4 million in the prior year period.
  • Net income attributable to CDEL was $3.0 million, compared with net income attributable to CDEL of $9.4 million in the prior year period.
  • Non-GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL was $3.7 million, compared with non- GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL of $10.0 million in the prior year period.
  • Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") attributable to CDEL were $0.089 and $0.088, respectively, compared with basic and diluted net income per ADS attributable to CDEL of $0.282 and $0.281, respectively, for the third quarter of fiscal 2019. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.
  • Basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS attributable to CDEL were $0.111 and $0.109, respectively, compared with basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS attributable to CDEL of $0.299 and $0.296, respectively, for the third quarter of fiscal 2019.
  • Cash flow from operations decreased by 59.2% to $7.2 million from $17.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2019.

[1] For more information about the non-GAAP financial measures contained in this press release, please see "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "In the third quarter of fiscal 2020, we reported net revenue of $50.7 million, within our guidance range. During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to support our students across China with high-quality online professional education at a time when offline classes were suspended, we provided free online courses to students in Hubei province and significant discounts for certain online exam preparation courses to students outside Hubei. Our socially responsive actions resulted in a surge in enrollment in our second fiscal quarter as previously disclosed, effectively pulling forward the demand for our courses and thus dampening enrollment and cash receipts growth in our third fiscal quarter."

"We believe in the long-term growth prospects of online professional education in China, and expect online education will continue to transform how knowledge is delivered and how students learn. We remain committed to serving students with our high-quality courseware and compelling online educational solutions during this challenging time. We are confident that our comprehensive lifelong learning ecosystem will enable us to reach a broad and growing student audience, and extend convenience, flexibility and engagement to their learning experience," Mr. Zhu concluded.

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "As anticipated, the decrease in cash receipts for our courses due to our socially responsive actions, together with the postponement of certain professional certification examinations, negatively impacted our revenue growth for the third fiscal quarter. In addition, a delay in the publication of certain legal exam preparation books further weakened our third quarter revenue growth. Despite these headwinds, we maintained a disciplined cost structure and achieved a non-GAAP operating margin of 6.2% for the quarter. With our fourth fiscal quarter well underway, we are further impacted by the postponement of a number of core professional certification examinations held in Beijing and several other cities. We remain focused on balancing growth with a keen focus on profitability."

Third Quarter Fiscal 2020 Financial Results

Net Revenue. Total net revenue decreased by 17.9% to $50.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 from $61.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2019. Net revenue from online education services, books and reference materials, and other sources contributed 78.9%, 12.8% and 8.3%, respectively, of total net revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2020.

Online education services. Net revenue from online education services decreased by 8.1% to $40.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 from $43.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2019, primarily attributable to the decrease in revenue from the Company’s healthcare and accounting verticals due to the impact of COVID-19, stemming from the postponement of certain professional certification examinations across China and the aforementioned socially responsive actions the Company adopted, which resulted in a significant decline in cash receipts from online course registration in both the second and third fiscal quarters of 2020.

Books and reference materials. Net revenue from books and reference materials decreased by 33.8% to $6.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 from $9.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2019, primarily attributable to the delay in the publication of certain Legal Professional Qualification Examination books, due to the promulgation of new laws.

Others. Net revenue from other sources decreased by 49.8% to $4.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 from $8.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2019, primarily due to a significant decrease in revenue from the sale of college-related learning simulation software, and a significant decrease in the provision of offline training courses, resulting from the impact of COVID-19.

Cost of Sales. Cost of sales decreased by 12.8% to $26.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, from $30.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2019. Non-GAAP[1] cost of sales decreased by 13.0% to $26.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, from $30.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2019. The decrease in cost of sales was primarily attributable to a decrease in cost of books and reference materials and lecture fees.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin. Gross profit was $24.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, down 22.8% from $31.2 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] gross profit was $24.1 million, decreasing by 22.7% from $31.2 million in the prior year period. Gross margin was 47.5% in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with 50.5% in the third quarter of fiscal 2019. Non-GAAP[1] gross margin was 47.5% in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with 50.5% in the third quarter of fiscal 2019.

Operating Expenses. Total operating expenses increased by 5.6% to $23.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, from $22.0 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] total operating expenses increased by 5.0% to $22.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, from $21.5 million in the prior year period.

Selling expenses. Selling expenses increased by 4.6% to $17.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 from $17.0 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] selling expenses increased by 4.5% to $17.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, from $17.0 million in the prior year period. The increase was primarily driven by higher advertising and promotional expenses, and the increase in commission to agents.

General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by 8.8% to $5.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 from $4.9 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] general and administrative expenses increased by 7.0% to $4.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, from $4.4 million in the prior year period. The increase was mainly due to the increase in share-based compensation expenses.

Income Tax Expenses. Income tax expense decreased by 77.1% to $0.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 from $2.5 million in the prior year period, primarily due to the decrease in taxable income in the third quarter of fiscal 2020.

Net Income Attributable to CDEL. As a result of the foregoing, net income attributable to CDEL was $3.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with net income attributable to CDEL of $9.4 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL was $3.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with non-GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL of $10.0 million in the prior year period.

Operating Cash Flow. Net operating cash inflow decreased by 59.2% to $7.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 from $17.6 million in the prior year period. The operating cash inflow was mainly attributable to net income before non-cash items generated in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. The increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities also contributed to the operating cash inflow. The operating cash inflow was partially offset by the decrease in deferred revenue and the decrease/increase in amount due to/from related parties.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Term Deposits, Restricted Cash and Short-term Investments. Cash and cash equivalents, term deposits, restricted cash and short-term investments as of June 30, 2020 increased by 2.7% to $133.7 million from $130.2 million as of March 31, 2020, mainly due to the operating cash inflow generated in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 and the drawdown of an offshore loan of $20.0 million. The increase was partially offset by (i) the dividend distribution of $19.6 million, (ii) the repayment of an onshore loan of $2.8 million, (iii) the payment of an investment of $0.7 million and (iv) the capital expenditure of $0.6 million.

First Nine Months of Fiscal 2020 Financial Results

Net Revenue. Total net revenue increased by 0.6% to $144.0 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 from $143.1 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2019. Net revenue from online education services, books and reference materials, and other sources contributed 75.0%, 10.9% and 14.1%, respectively, of total net revenues for the first nine months of fiscal 2020.

Online education services. Net revenue from online education services increased by 11.9% to $107.9 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 from $96.5 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2019.

Books and reference materials. Net revenue from books and reference materials decreased by 27.2% to $15.8 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 from $21.6 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2019.

Others. Net revenue from other sources decreased by 18.9% to $20.3 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 from $25.0 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2019.

Cost of Sales. Cost of sales decreased by 8.4% to $72.8 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 from $79.5 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2019. Non-GAAP[1] cost of sales decreased by 8.5% to $72.7 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020, from $79.4 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2019.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin. Gross profit was $71.2 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020, up 11.9% from $63.7 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] gross profit was $71.3 million, increasing by 12.0% from $63.7 million in the prior year period. Gross margin was 49.5% in the first nine months of fiscal 2020, compared with 44.5% in the first nine months of fiscal 2019. Non-GAAP[1] gross margin was 49.5% in the first nine months of fiscal 2020, compared with 44.5% in the first nine months of fiscal 2019.

Operating Expenses. Total operating expenses increased by 9.7% to $69.3 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020, from $63.2 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] total operating expenses increased by 9.4% to $67.5 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020, from $61.7 million in the prior year period.

Selling expenses. Selling expenses increased by 15.3% to $52.3 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 from $45.3 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] selling expenses increased by 15.3% to $52.2 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020, from $45.3 million in the prior year period.

General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses decreased by 4.7% to $17.0 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 from $17.9 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] general and administrative expenses decreased by 7.0% to $15.2 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020, from $16.4 million in the prior year period.

Income Tax Expenses. Income tax expense was $1.3 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020, compared with income tax expense of $2.1 million in the prior year period.

Net Income Attributable to CDEL. As a result of the foregoing, net income attributable to CDEL was $5.6 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020, compared with net income attributable to CDEL of $7.5 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL was $7.5 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020, compared with non-GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL of $9.0 million in the prior year period.

Operating Cash Flow. Net operating cash inflow decreased by 33.8% to $41.0 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 from $61.9 million in the prior year period.

Recent Developments Regarding the Non-binding "Going Private" Proposal

On June 8, 2020, the board of directors of the Company (the "Board") received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter (the "Proposal Letter") from Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, co-founder, chairman of the Board and chief executive officer of the Company ("Mr. Zhu"), Ms. Baohong Yin, co-founder of the Company, deputy chairman of the Board and the spouse of Mr. Zhu and their affiliated entity (collectively, the "Buyer Group") to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares of the Company, including ordinary shares represented by American depositary shares (the "ADSs", each representing four ordinary shares), for $2.27 in cash per ordinary share, or $9.08 in cash per ADS (the "Proposal"). On June 22, 2020, the Company announced that the Board had formed a special committee of independent directors (the "Special Committee") consisting of Ms. Carol Yu and Ms. Annabelle Yu Long to review and evaluate the Proposal, and the Special Committee had retained Goulston & Storrs PC as its United States legal counsel in connection with its review and evaluation of the Proposal. On July 29, 2020, the Company announced that the Special Committee had retained Duff & Phelps, LLC as its financial advisor in connection with its review and evaluation of the Proposal.

The Company cautions its shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that neither the Board nor the Special Committee has made any decision with respect to the Company’s response to the Proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction, except as required under applicable law.

Outlook

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $58.4 million to $61.8 million, representing year-over-year decline of approximately 15% to 10%, respectively.

For fiscal year 2020, the Company expects to generate total net revenue in the range of $202.4 million to $205.8 million, representing year-over-year decline of approximately 4.4% to 2.8%, respectively.

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

Conference Call

Management will hold a conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, August 27, 2020 (8:00 p.m. Beijing Time on Thursday, August 27, 2020) to discuss financial results and answer questions from investors and analysts. Details for the conference call are as follows:

Event Title:

China Distance Education Holdings Limited Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2020 Earnings Conference Call

Conference ID:

9952634

Registration Link:

http://apac.directeventreg.com/registration/event/9952634

All participants must use the link provided above to complete the online registration process at least 20 minutes in advance of the conference call. Upon registering, each participant will receive a participant dial-in number, Direct Event passcode, and a unique registrant ID, which will be used to join the conference call.

A telephone replay will be available two hours after the call until September 3, 2020 by dialing:

US Toll Free:

+1-855-452-5696

International:

+61-2-8199-0299

Mainland China:

400-632-2162

Hong Kong, China:

800-963-117

United Kingdom:

0808-234-0072

Replay Passcode:

9952634

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available at http://ir.cdeledu.com.

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, legal and other industries. The Company also offers online test preparation courses for self-taught learners pursuing higher education diplomas or degrees, and practical accounting training courses for college students and working professionals. 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.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expect," "predict," "anticipate," "future," "intend," "plan," "believe," "is/are likely to," "estimate" and similar statements. Among other things, the outlook for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2020 and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as the Company’s strategic and operational plans (in particular, the impact of COVID-19 on our businesses; the solutions we adopt to address such impact of COVID-19; balancing growth and profitability; the growth prospects of online professional education in China; as well as the anticipated benefits of our strategic growth initiatives, including the promotion of the Company’s life-long learning ecosystem) contain forward-looking statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic and annual reports to the SEC, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, the potential impact of the Proposal and any transaction in connection with the Proposal, our goals and growth strategies; future prospects and market acceptance of our courses and other products and services; our future business development and results of operations; projected revenues, profits, earnings and other estimated financial information; projected enrollment numbers; our plans to expand and enhance our courses and other products and services; anticipated benefits of acquisition or disposal of businesses, competition in the education and test preparation markets; and Chinese laws, regulations and policies, including those applicable to the Internet, Internet content providers, the education and telecommunications industries, mergers and acquisitions, taxation and foreign exchange. In addition, with respect to the "going private" Proposal, there can be no assurance that the Buyer Group will make any definitive offer to the Company, that any definitive agreement relating to the Proposal will be entered into between the Company and the Buyer Group or that a transaction based on the Proposal or any other similar transaction will be approved or consummated.

Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company’s annual report on Form 20-F and other documents filed or furnished with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

Statement Regarding Unaudited Financial Information

The unaudited financial information set forth in this press release is preliminary and subject to adjustments. Adjustments to the financial statements may be identified when audit work is performed for the year-end audit, which could result in significant differences from this preliminary unaudited financial information.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the Company’s consolidated financial results presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, the Company uses the following measures defined as non-GAAP financial measures: non-GAAP net income attributable to CDEL, operating income, gross profit, cost of sales, selling expenses, general and administrative expenses, net income margin attributable to CDEL, operating margin, gross profit margin, and basic and diluted earnings per ADS and per share attributable to CDEL. 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 "Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to comparable GAAP measures" set forth at the end of this release.

The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance by excluding share-based compensation expenses. However, non-GAAP financial measures may not be indicative of the Company’s operating performance from a cash perspective. The Company 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 the Company’s historical performance and liquidity. The Company computes its non-GAAP financial measures using the same consistent method from quarter to quarter. The Company 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 excluding share-based compensation expenses from the above-mentioned line items and presenting these non-GAAP measures is that such items may continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant recurring expense in our business. Management compensates for this limitation by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from each non-GAAP measure. The accompanying table at the end of this release provides more detail on the reconciliations between GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures.

Contacts:

In China:

China Distance Education Holdings Limited
Jiao Jiao
Tel: +86-10-8231-9999 ext. 1826
Email: IR@cdeledu.com

The Piacente Group, Inc. 
Xi Zhang 
Tel: +86-10-6508-0677
E-mail: dl@tpg-ir.com

In the United States: 

The Piacente Group, Inc.    
Brandi Piacente
Tel: +1 212-481-2050
Email: dl@tpg-ir.com

 

 

(Financial Tables on Following Pages)

 

 

China Distance Education Holdings Limited

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in thousands of US Dollars, except number of shares and per share data)

September 30, 2019

June 30, 2020

Assets:

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

67,977

83,927

Term deposits

4,954

Restricted cash

38,358

20,241

Short-term investments

22,118

24,550

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of US$1,648 and
US$1,282 as of June 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019, respectively

7,330

6,182

Inventories

4,232

5,713

Prepayment and other current assets

26,732

30,143

Amounts due from related parties

515

908

Deferred cost

1,427

2,104

   Total current assets

168,689

178,722

Non-current assets:

Property, plant and equipment, net

37,935

40,732

Operating lease right of use asset

30,074

Goodwill, net

74,829

75,704

Long term investments

25,379

25,572

Other intangible assets, net

30,113

24,318

Deposit for purchase of non-current assets

4,448

1,552

Deferred tax assets

3,865

3,713

Other non-current assets

10,092

7,579

   Total non-current assets

186,661

209,244

   Total assets

355,350

387,966

Liabilities and equity:

Current liabilities:

Bank borrowings

38,502

7,199

Accrued expenses and other liabilities (including accrued expenses and other
liabilities of the consolidated VIE without recourse to China Distance Education
Holdings Limited of US$47,280 and US$35,491 as of June 30, 2020 and September
30, 2019, respectively)

38,267

49,950

Amount due to related parties

600

687

Income tax payable (including income tax payable of the consolidated VIE without
recourse to China Distance Education Holdings Limited of US$6,942 and US$8,188
as of June 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019, respectively)

10,899

8,579

Deferred revenue, current portion (including deferred revenue of the consolidated
VIE without recourse to China Distance Education Holdings Limited of US$71,477
and US$93,364 as of June 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019, respectively)

94,202

72,253

Refundable fees – current portion (including refundable fees of the consolidated VIE
without recourse to China Distance Education Holdings Limited of US$24 and
US$435 as of June 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019, respectively)

435

24

Operating lease liability – current portion (including operating lease liability of the
consolidated VIE without recourse to China Distance Education Holdings Limited
of US$3,614 and nil as of June 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019, respectively)

3,967

   Total current liabilities

182,905

142,659

Non-current liabilities:

Deferred revenue, non-current portion (including deferred revenue of the
consolidated VIE without recourse to China Distance Education Holdings Limited
of US$80,430 and US$33,564 as of June 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019,
respectively)

33,564

80,430

Refundable fees – non-current portion (including refundable fees of the consolidated
VIE without recourse to China Distance Education Holdings Limited of US$3,944
and US$2,440 as of June 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019, respectively)

2,440

3,944

Long-term bank borrowing

16,000

Deferred tax liabilities

12,695

6,410

Operating lease liability – non-current portion (including operating lease liability of
the consolidated VIE without recourse to China Distance Education Holdings
Limited of US$24,536 and nil as of June 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019,
respectively)

24,927

Total non-current liabilities

48,699

131,711

   Total liabilities

231,604

274,370

 

Equity:

Ordinary shares (par value of US$0.0001 per share; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 
135,320,433 and 134,210,745 shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2020 and
September 30, 2019, respectively)

13

14

Additional paid-in capital

24,507

26,629

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(12,357)

(8,805)

Retained earnings

60,668

46,612

   Total China Distance Education Holdings Limited shareholder’s equity

72,831

64,450

Noncontrolling interests

50,915

49,146

   Total equity

123,746

113,596

   Total liabilities and equity

355,350

387,966

 

 

China Distance Education Holdings Limited

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Operations

(in thousands of US dollars, except number of shares, per share and per ADS data)

Three Months Ended June 30,

2019

2020

Sales, net of business tax, value-added tax and related surcharges:

Online education services

43,529

39,996

Books and reference materials

9,826

6,507

Others

8,392

4,211

–  Sale of learning simulation software

2,665

833

–  Business start-up training services

886

175

–  Others

4,841

3,203

   Total net revenues

61,747

50,714

Cost of sales

Cost of services and others

(20,836)

(19,767)

Cost of tangible goods sold

(9,735)

(6,882)

   Total cost of sales

(30,571)

(26,649)

Gross profit

31,176

24,065

Operating expenses

Selling expenses

(17,043)

(17,828)

General and administrative expenses

(4,947)

(5,383)

   Total operating expenses

(21,990)

(23,211)

Other operating income

665

1,607

Operating income 

9,851

2,461

Interest income

526

582

Interest expense

(703)

(216)

Gain from disposal of an investment

318

Exchange gain/(loss)

1,996

(243)

Income before income taxes

11,988

2,584

Income tax expense

(2,460)

(564)

Loss from equity method investments

(656)

(570)

Net income

8,872

1,450

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest

575

1,566

Net income attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited

9,447

3,016

 

Net income per share attributable to China Distance Education Holdings
Limited:

Net income attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited 
shareholders

Basic

0.070

0.022

Diluted

0.070

0.022

 

Net income per ADS attributable to China Distance Education Holdings
Limited:

Net income attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited 
shareholders

Basic

0.282

0.089

Diluted

0.281

0.088

Weighted average shares used in calculating net income per share
attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited:

Basic

133,037,866

134,005,063

Diluted

134,342,150

135,441,737

 

 

China Distance Education Holdings Limited

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Operations

 (in thousands of US dollars, except number of shares, per share and per ADS data)

Nine Months Ended June 30,

2019

2020

Sales, net of business tax, value-added tax and related surcharges:

Online education services

96,450

107,939

Books and reference materials

21,632

15,751

Others

25,049

20,322

–  Sale of learning simulation software

9,630

7,295

–  Business start-up training services

2,258

1,826

–  Others

13,161

11,201

   Total net revenues

143,131

144,012

Cost of sales

Cost of services and others

(62,461)

(57,938)

Cost of tangible goods sold

(16,997)

(14,840)

   Total cost of sales

(79,458)

(72,778)

Gross profit

63,673

71,234

Operating expenses

Selling expenses

(45,327)

(52,273)

General and administrative expenses

(17,855)

(17,016)

Total operating expenses

(63,182)

(69,289)

Change in fair value of contingent consideration payable

695

Other operating income

2,434

3,932

Operating income 

3,620

5,877

Interest income

1,714

1,952

Interest expense

(2,294)

(901)

Gain from disposal of an investment

318

Gain from deconsolidation of a subsidiary

6,869

Exchange loss

(104)

(1,154)

Income before income taxes

10,123

5,774

Income tax expense

(2,077)

(1,259)

Loss from equity method investments

(1,019)

(847)

Net income

7,027

3,668

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest

457

1,897

Net income attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited

7,484

5,565

 

Net income per share attributable to China Distance Education Holdings
Limited:

Net income attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited 
shareholders

Basic

0.056

0.041

Diluted

0.056

0.041

 

Net income per ADS attributable to China Distance Education Holdings
Limited:

Net income attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited 
shareholders

Basic

0.224

0.165

Diluted

0.223

0.165

Weighted average shares used in calculating net income per share
attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited:

Basic

132,946,829

133,808,589

Diluted

134,072,148

135,124,141

 

 

China Distance Education Holdings Limited

Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to comparable GAAP measures

(In thousands of US Dollars, except number of shares, per share and per ADS data)

Three Months Ended June 30,

2019

2020

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

Cost of sales

30,571

26,649

Share-based compensation expense in cost of sales

45

Non-GAAP cost of sales

30,571

26,604

Selling expenses

17,043

17,828

Share-based compensation expense in selling expenses

19

Non-GAAP selling expenses

17,043

17,809

General and administrative expenses

4,947

5,383

Share-based compensation expense in general and administrative expenses

503

626

Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses

4,444

4,757

Gross profit

31,176

24,065

Share-based compensation expenses

45

Non-GAAP gross profit

31,176

24,110

Gross profit margin

50.5%

47.5%

Non-GAAP gross profit margin

50.5%

47.5%

Operating income

9,851

2,461

Share-based compensation expenses

503

690

Non-GAAP operating income

10,354

3,151

Operating margin

16.0%

4.9%

Non-GAAP operating margin

16.8%

6.2%

Net income attributable to CDEL

9,447

3,016

Share-based compensation expense

503

690

Non-GAAP net income attributable to CDEL

9,950

3,706

Net income margin attributable to CDEL

15.3%

5.9%

Non-GAAP net income margin attributable to CDEL

16.1%

7.3%

Net income per share attributable to CDEL—basic

0.070

0.022

Net income per share attributable to CDEL—diluted

0.070

0.022

Non-GAAP net income per share attributable to CDEL—basic

0.075

0.028

Non-GAAP net income per share attributable to CDEL—diluted

0.074

0.027

Net income per ADS attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited
      shareholders—basic (note 1)

0.282

0.089

Net income per ADS attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited
      shareholders—diluted (note 1)

0.281

0.088

Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to China Distance Education Holdings
      Limited shareholders—basic (note 1)

 

0.299

0.111

Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to China Distance Education Holdings
      Limited shareholders—diluted (note 1)

 

0.296

0.109

Weighted average shares used in calculating basic net income per share attributable
      to China Distance Education Holdings Limited

133,037,866

134,005,063

Weighted average shares used in calculating diluted net income per share
      attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited

134,342,150

135,441,737

Weighted average shares used in calculating basic non-GAAP net income per share
      attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited

133,037,866

134,005,063

Weighted average shares used in calculating diluted non-GAAP net income per share
      attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited

134,342,150

135,441,737

Note 1: Each ADS represents four ordinary shares

 

 

China Distance Education Holdings Limited

Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to comparable GAAP measures

(In thousands of US Dollars, except number of shares, per share and per ADS data)

Nine Months Ended June 30,

2019

2020

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

Cost of sales

79,458

72,778

Share-based compensation expense in cost of sales

23

95

Non-GAAP cost of sales

79,435

72,683

Selling expenses

45,327

52,273

Share-based compensation expense in selling expenses

10

39

Non-GAAP selling expenses

45,317

52,234

General and administrative expenses

17,855

17,016

Share-based compensation expense in general and administrative expenses

1,482

1,795

Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses

16,373

15,221

Gross profit

63,673

71,234

Share-based compensation expenses

23

95

Non-GAAP gross profit

63,696

71,329

Gross profit margin

44.5%

49.5%

Non-GAAP gross profit margin

44.5%

49.5%

Operating income

3,620

5,877

Share-based compensation expenses

1,515

1,929

Non-GAAP operating income

5,135

7,806

Operating margin

2.5%

4.1%

Non-GAAP operating margin

3.6%

5.4%

Net income attributable to CDEL

7,484

5,565

Share-based compensation expense

1,515

1,929

Non-GAAP net income attributable to CDEL

8,999

7,494

Net income margin attributable to CDEL

5.2%

3.9%

Non-GAAP net income margin attributable to CDEL

6.3%

5.2%

Net income per share attributable to CDEL—basic

0.056

0.041

Net income per share attributable to CDEL—diluted

0.056

0.041

Non-GAAP net income per share attributable to CDEL—basic

0.068

0.056

Non-GAAP net income per share attributable to CDEL—diluted

0.067

0.055

Net income per ADS attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited
      shareholders—basic (note 1)

0.224

0.165

Net income per ADS attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited
      shareholders—diluted (note 1)

0.223

0.165

Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to China Distance Education Holdings
      Limited shareholders—basic (note 1)

 

0.271

0.224

Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to China Distance Education Holdings
      Limited shareholders—diluted (note 1)

 

0.269

0.222

Weighted average shares used in calculating basic net income per share attributable
      to China Distance Education Holdings Limited

132,946,829

133,808,589

Weighted average shares used in calculating diluted net income per share
      attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited

134,072,148

135,124,141

Weighted average shares used in calculating basic non-GAAP net income per share
      attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited

132,946,829

133,808,589

Weighted average shares used in calculating diluted non-GAAP net income per
      share attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited

134,072,148

135,124,141

 Note 1: Each ADS represents four ordinary shares

 

Agora Announces Steep Customer Growth in Q2


Demand for Agora’s APIs mirrors societal shift towards real-time engagement

SANTA CLARA, California, Aug. 26, 2020 — Agora, Inc. (NASDAQ: API), a real-time engagement API provider, today announced steep growth across its customer base in Q2 driven by increased demand for real-time engagement (RTE) technology. Agora, with dual headquarters in Santa Clara, California and Shanghai, China, grew its customer base by 85.5 percent year-over-year as of June 2020, and it serves customers in more than 100 countries around the world through more than 10,000 active applications.

New Agora customers built features like audio and video live streaming into applications even as COVID-19-related social distancing requirements eased. Real-time engagement technology rapidly reached widespread adoption as companies shifted critical business functions to the virtual world. Sources like Gartner report 74% of CFOs plan to shift some employees to remote work permanently post-pandemic, making virtual experiences an integral common part of modern daily life.

"At Agora, it’s our goal to make real-time engagement ubiquitous so people can connect from anywhere, at any time in ways that capture meaningful human interactions," said Reggie Yativ, Chief Operations Officer and Chief Revenue Officer at Agora Lab, Inc. "We continue to see interest in RTE and real growth on a global scale from customers across sectors like education and gaming. This reflects a larger cultural shift towards richer virtual interactions in our personal and professional lives, both to create better online experiences, but also to innovate in the new business landscape."

In Q2, Agora inked new partnerships with industry leaders in IT, social gaming, online dating, and more. Partners turned to Agora to create unique use cases like:

  • Online Learning:
    • Applejax makes it easy for parents to find quality teachers for tutoring and pod-based learning. Quality education needs good teachers, that is why 100% of Applejax’s teachers are credentialed. Applejax partnered with Agora to develop virtual whiteboards and real-time engagement via video between teachers and students. Both features play an integral role in collaborative learning ensuring your child is learning at the highest level.
    • PandaTree, a remote language tutoring service, tapped Agora’s SDKs to improve business continuity and ensure streaming quality for its virtual tutoring sessions. With Agora’s SDK in place, PandaTree scaled to meet a 300% increase in user demand when shelter-in-place measures were first enacted. Agora’s network, which delivers extremely low latency, also enabled tutors to host innovative lessons with shared real-time visuals and engagement.
  • Streamed Fitness Experiences:
    • MixPose used Agora’s API to build live streaming into its platform for yoga instructors leading real-time classes, allowing instructors and viewers to capture the experience of a guided session. Agora’s video SDK pairs with MixPose’s AI functions to evaluate the yoga poses of participants, helping to offer guidance and track progress.
  • Socializing While Distanced:
    • VirtualTaproom pioneered the application of video chat to connect craft beer enthusiasts for networking and virtual brewery experiences. With Agora, VirtualTaproom took the craft beer tasting experience online with live-streaming virtual "taprooms," digital "tipping" and other interactive features. In connection with this year’s Craft Beer Professionals Virtual Conference, VirtualTaproom welcomed 5,000 attendees to a virtual afterparty and trade show.
    • Sesh used Agora’s RTE technology to build a unique video app for free-flowing group hangouts and personal safety. Sesh allows users to spontaneously start, join or watch video hangouts on their private groups in an organic and flexible manner. Additionally, the "Safety Sesh" feature allows users to easily broadcast their live video and location to their preselected safety contacts in times of perceived danger or insecurity.
  • Remote Collaboration:
    • VirBELA, an immersive platform that offers virtual campuses for offices and educational institutions, is redefining the future of business, events and education with Agora’s RTE capabilities. Using 3D technology, VirBELA creates dynamic virtual campuses that allow groups of people to engage in real-time through avatars.
  • Immersive Virtual Events:
    • InEvent used Agora’s SDKs to add real-time engagement features to its platform, which provides a no-code way to create immersive virtual event experiences complete with live-streamed speaking sessions. InEvent’s engaging, easy-to-use platform provides a virtual solution for summits and conferences derailed by social distancing restrictions.

Agora partners receive 10,000 free minutes of use each month hosted on Agora’s proprietary Software-Defined Real-Time Network (SD-RTN™), which delivers extremely low latency and high availability. This flexible pricing model allows Agora to scale with its customers, making Agora easy to seamlessly build into digital strategies.

For more information about Agora’s partners or its live interactive video and voice SDKs for mobile, web or desktop apps, visit www.agora.io.

About Agora

Agora’s mission is to make real-time engagement ubiquitous, allowing everyone to interact with anyone, in any application, anytime and anywhere. Agora’s platform provides developers simple, flexible and powerful application programming interfaces, or APIs, to embed real-time video and voice engagement experiences into their applications.

Contact: Alexandria Plew, agora@matternow.com

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Infortrend Provides Chinese Radio and TV Broadcasting Station with Storage Solution for NLE and Media Library

TAIPEI, Aug. 25, 2020 — Infortrend® Technology, Inc. (TWSE: 2495), the industry-leading enterprise storage provider, enabled Chinese radio and TV broadcasting station with a reliable and high throughput EonStor GS storage solution for their non-linear editing (NLE) workflows and media asset management (MAM) system.

This Chinese radio and TV broadcasting station has been developing in line with the cultural reform by seamlessly combining traditional media with emerging media trends. As a result, the growing data volume and daily media workloads needed a modernized high throughput storage solution compatible with the already existing sophisticated hardware and software IT infrastructure. The station planned to deploy an easy-to-use storage with data protection functions. It was required to provide a foundation for media resource management and realization of the content ingestion, editing, and storage for release of radio and TV programs and further content archiving.

Infortrend’s EonStor GS 2000 with JB3000 expansion enclosure was chosen as it perfectly conformed to the project objectives. It can deliver up to 5.5GB/s throughput to handle workflow from 10 HD editing workstations through 10GbE. With such bandwidth, GS ensures that NLE workflows, e.g. editing, color correction, audio adjusting and subtitling, are smoothly and concurrently performed for on-time high quality program production. 100TB of usable space and smooth integration with the MAM-system allowed for unified and centralized management of all the media in the station. Data protection measures, such as RAID6 disk protection, snapshots, remote replication, and cloud backup, secure integrity of media content. Importantly, the user-friendly management software EonOne allows non-IT employees to easily set up and manage the system. For future development in 4K and 8K content production, maximum storage capacity can be expanded to more than 10PB.

Learn more about EonStor GS

About Infortrend

Infortrend (TWSE: 2495) has been developing and manufacturing storage solutions since 1993. With a strong emphasis on in-house design, testing, and manufacturing, Infortrend storage delivers performance and scalability with the latest standards, user friendly data services, personal after-sales support, and unrivaled value. For more information, please visit www.infortrend.com

Infortrend® and EonStor® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Infortrend Technology, Inc.; other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Impartner Completes Acquisition of TIE Kinetix’s Channel Marketing and Demand Generation Business


Acquisition joins together the channel management industry’s two top technologies

SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 24, 2020 — Impartner, the world’s most-award winning, most complete channel management platform and Partner Relationship Management (PRM) provider today announced it has completed the acquisition of the Through Channel Marketing Automation (TCMA) business from partner marketing automation solutions provider, TIE Kinetix (AEX: TIE). With the acquisition, which includes TIE Kinetix’s full suite of contemporary Brand Control and Demand Generation technologies, Impartner now offers the industry’s most holistic channel management platform with unparalleled breadth and depth to help companies accelerate the performance of their channel.

Impartner acquires world’s most advanced channel marketing/demand generation business (TCMA) from TIE Kinetix. Impartner and TIE Kinetix recently came out No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in global study on Channel Marketing and Enablement SaaS and Software (CME), from analyst firm Research in Action, and together, create a channel management technology powerhouse.
Impartner acquires world’s most advanced channel marketing/demand generation business (TCMA) from TIE Kinetix. Impartner and TIE Kinetix recently came out No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in global study on Channel Marketing and Enablement SaaS and Software (CME), from analyst firm Research in Action, and together, create a channel management technology powerhouse.

"The short list of new-age partner management and marketing solutions gets even tighter as these two top companies merge their best-of-breed offerings and create a new channel management technology powerhouse," said technology analyst firm Research in Action’s Research Director, Peter O’Neill, who is author of a recent global study on Channel Marketing and Enablement SaaS and Software (CME). In the report, Impartner and TIE Kinetix came out No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, as rated by 1,500 business decision-makers. O’Neill is widely known in the channel technology space, given his most recent role with Forrester where for 12 years he directed the firm’s research on B2B Marketing organization, process and automation topics, including the Forrester TCMA Wave.

"Now, more than ever, companies need their partners to truly be an extension of their businesses and amplify their voice in markets where they can no longer be physically," said Joe Wang, Impartner CEO. "Adding what is inarguably the most contemporary, usable and easily adoptable TCMA to help our customers market through their partners is part of our ongoing commitment to deliver the industry’s most sophisticated, future-proof channel management platform."  

The divestiture allows TIE Kinetix to focus on its core EDI-Integration technology and 100 percent digitalization of the supply chain. Proceeds from this transaction will be used to invest and grow the core EDI-Integration business. "We could not be more excited to have Impartner incorporate this technology and the talented team that supports this business into what is already the fastest-growing, most complete and award-winning channel management company worldwide," said TIE Kinetix CEO Jan Sundelin.

The TIE Kinetix purchase is one of a string of acquisitions by Impartner in recent years to expand its channel management technology portfolio, including Tremolo, to automate vendor delivery of customized news to partners, and Amplifinity, which gives customers a way to formalize management of non-traditional ‘shadow channel’ partners, the industry’s fastest-growing segment.

Impartner will integrate TIE Kinetix solutions within its robust channel management technology platform. For a demo of Impartner’s full suite of solutions and how they help accelerate indirect revenue, click here.

About TIE Kinetix

TIE Kinetix transforms the digital supply chain by providing Total Integrated E-Commerce solutions. These solutions maximize revenue opportunities by minimizing the energy required to market, sell, fulfill and optimize online.

Customers and partners of TIE Kinetix constantly benefit from innovative, field-tested, state-of-the-art technologies, backed by 32 years of experience and prestigious awards. TIE Kinetix makes technology to perform, such that customers and partners can focus on their core business. TIE Kinetix is a public company and has offices in the United States, the Netherlands, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Australia.

About Impartner

Impartner delivers the industry’s most complete SaaS-based Channel Management Platform, helping companies worldwide manage their partner relationships and accelerate revenue and profitability through indirect sales channels. Impartner’s flagship Partner Relationship Management (PRM) solution is the industry’s most award-winning PRM technology and one of the industry’s only turnkey solutions that can deploy a world-class Partner Portal in as few as 14 days. For more information on Impartner, which is based in Utah’s tech hotbed, the Silicon Slopes, visit www.impartner.com, or in the United States call +1 801 501 7000, for EMEA general call +33 1 40 90 31 20 and for London call +44 0 20 3283 4465.

Follow Impartner on LinkedInTwitter and Facebook.

Contact:
Kerry Desberg
Impartner
+1 425-231-9529 
Kerry.desberg@impartner.com

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Discover the Untapped Revenue Potential of Cinema in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Frost & Sullivan’s Digital Media team to explore the cinema exhibition market in KSA and outline strategies for growth during upcoming webinar

SANTA CLARA, California, Aug. 24, 2020 — The loosening of restrictions on the media and entertainment sector by The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has fueled the demand for public viewing of cinema in theaters. This positive development has created revenue generation opportunities for several stakeholders in the ecosystem, both nationally and internationally, as the region is one of few in the world where cinema exhibition is a new business. To help navigate this emergent market, our Digital Media team will provide insight on the near- to long-term growth opportunities present in KSA against a backdrop of challenges, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic and stiff competition faced from over-the-top (OTT) players.

Frost & Sullivan - cinema exhibition in KSA
Frost & Sullivan – cinema exhibition in KSA

Join Frost & Sullivan Director Saurabh Verma, accompanied by Runaway Insights experts Sailesh Dave and Neil Dave, for the Growth Opportunity briefing, "Cinema Exhibition Business in KSA: Strategies for Revenue Generation & Growth," on September 1 at 3 p.m. GST. The briefing will shed light on key innovative development strategies that can be launched by cinema chain operators to effectively enter the market in KSA and sustain long-term progress and profitability.

For more information and to register for the webinar, please visit: http://frost.ly/4do

Key benefits of attending this webinar:

  • Understand the role analytics and big data will play in the theatrical exhibition business in KSA.
  • Decipher if and how cinema chain operators can co-exist with OTT platforms.
  • Discover why KSA is the destination for future investments by real estate developers, cinema equipment and technology providers, and distribution and marketing companies.
  • Identify how cinema chain operators, independent local content creators, international production houses and studios can effectively capitalize on the immense growth opportunities from theatrical exhibition in KSA.

The event will also be recorded and available on-demand at http://frost.ly/1ti

About Frost & Sullivan

For over five decades, Frost & Sullivan has become world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Press Contact: 

Jaylon Brinkley
Frost & Sullivan 
+1 (210) 247 2481
jaylon.brinkley@frost.com

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ASTRI sets smart water data challenge to promote STEM education in Greater China

HONG KONG, Aug. 24, 2020 — The Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) has supported the International Mathematical Modelling Challenge (IM2C) to nurture STEM talent and innovative entrepreneurship for secondary school students in Hong Kong SAR and the rest of the Greater China region through problem setting, field studies, summer internships and presentation competitions. 

ASTRI CEO Hugh Chow welcomes IMMC students and teachers visiting ASTRI2019
ASTRI CEO Hugh Chow welcomes IMMC students and teachers visiting ASTRI2019

 

ASTRI explains how mathematical modelling is applied in our technological innovations solving problems in 2018
ASTRI explains how mathematical modelling is applied in our technological innovations solving problems in 2018

Established by Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP, USA) and NeoUnion ESC Organization (NeoUnion, Hong Kong) in 2015, the IM2C is a global innovation contest for secondary school students to explore the application of mathematical modelling in real-life situations to solve problems of importance today. Water is an essential resource in our daily life. A smart water supply system which can monitor flaws in pipes and valves is key to sustainable and efficient water use in Hong Kong. Using ASTRI’s simulated scenarios from the real-life project on Smart Water Data Analysis, the Hong Kong team from Diocesan Girl’s School won the Outstanding Award for the 2020 IM2C Greater China Contest, which was featured in the July issue of the Newsletter of Hong Kong Laureate Forum. The problems set for the IM2C 2020 in Greater China covered a wide spectrum of issues including Smart Water Data Analysis, Credibility in Online News, Grid Frequency Response and Cyber Insurance Incentive Strategy; Flash Sale is used for the international challenge.

"Mathematical modelling provides the effective tool in applying logical thinking to solving the complex problems we face today," said Dr James Lei, ASTRI Senior Director of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics. "Through our support to the IM2C competition, field studies and the Advanced Innovation Program platform, ASTRI hopes to stimulate young people’s interest in STEM education and careers, and encourage them to take on the difficult challenges – an essential trait for technological innovation."

ASTRI Chief Executive Officer, Mr Hugh Chow said, "STEM education is becoming increasingly recognised as a key driver of opportunity. IM2C facilitates students to learn about the relevance of mathematical modelling to their studies as well as to their career including entrepreneurship – an important skill for the technology-driven economy of the future. ASTRI will continue to promote STEM education and applied research to prepare our young people to work in a world that is progressively competitive yet collaborative."

Mr Alfred Cheung, Director of IM2C Committee (Zhonghua) said: "We value ASTRI’s continuous support to the IM2C in promoting STEM education in Hong Kong and the Greater China region. With the implementation of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong will play an increasingly active role as the international hub of science and innovation. We thank ASTRI for the robust support and partnership to inspire more students to be engaged in international exchange in science and innovation."

The 2020 contest, the sixth IM2C, saw 650 teams from the Mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan compete – a tenfold increase since its establishment.

Notes to editors

  1. Photo 1: ASTRI CEO Hugh Chow welcomes students and teachers of International Mathematical Modelling Challenge visiting ASTRI to learn about our latest technologies.
  2. Photo 2: ASTRI explains how mathematical modelling is applied in our technological innovations solving problems of today.

About ASTRI

The Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) was founded by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2000 with the mission of enhancing Hong Kong’s competitiveness in technology-based industries through applied research.

ASTRI’s research and development strategic focus covers five areas of applications: Smart City; Financial Technologies; Intelligent Manufacturing; Health Technologies; and Application Specific Integrated Circuits through its mandate as the Hong Kong branch of the Chinese National Engineering Research Centre. Our core competence in various areas is grouped under five technology divisions, namely Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics; Communications Technologies; Cybersecurity, Cryptography and Trusted Technologies; Integrated Circuits and Systems, and IoT and Sensors.

ASTRI seeks to develop technologies that address the needs of industries, institutions and communities in Hong Kong; as well as nurture talents to create economic value and societal impact. To date, ASTRI has transferred more than 750 technologies to the industry and owns more than 850 patents in the Mainland, the US and other countries. For further information, please visit www.astri.org.

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FarEye Raises USD 37.5 Mn In Series D Funding To Expand Its Delivery Logistics Platform Used By DHL & Amway


  • The Fundamentum Partnership & KB Global Platform Fund Invest In FarEye 
  • FarEye accelerates its global expansion as enterprises move towards customer-centric supply chains  

SINGAPORE, Aug. 21, 2020 — FarEye, a leading logistics SaaS platform for predictive visibility, today announced that it has raised additional USD 13 Mn as an extension to its Series D investment led by The Fundamentum Partnership, the growth-capital fund for mid-stage technology companies in India backed by Nandan Nilekani and Sanjeev Aggarwal and KB Global Platform Fund, one of the leading investment firm of Korea. The investment will accelerate FarEye’s global expansion to address the steepening digital curve for logistics transformation. The need is being further accelerated by enterprises and end consumers demanding a high level of transparency, faster and more convenient delivery experiences. There is also an increased need for flexible supply chains to meet these demands.

FarEye works with its enterprise customers to provide higher control on their supply chains and offer a superior delivery experience to their end customers. The company’s technology platform digitizes the way enterprises dispatch, execute, track, and optimize the movement of goods, enabling enterprises to lower logistics costs while delighting end consumers.

"The support and trust of our investors, customers, and partners underpin our deep desire to make logistics better for brands, their customers, and the environment. We are seeing a surge in the need for real-time visibility in logistics for businesses to build customer-centric supply chains. With recently raised funds, we will continue to invest in the best talent in the Americas, Europe, and APAC to support our hyper-growth in these regions. With a vision to make FarEye one of the most customer-centric organizations globally, we aim to make every delivery delightful for the consumers," said Kushal Nahata, CEO, FarEye.

Commenting on the investment Sanjeev Aggarwal, Co-founder of Fundamentum, said, "Investment in the logistics space is essential for the economic growth of any nation. FarEye has captured the pulse of this industry and has all the ingredients to head towards global leadership. I believe in the founders and the team has the clarity of vision. We are excited to partner with FarEye in its journey to create a global technology leader in the logistics space."

This is the second time this year that FarEye has been able to raise funds to support its hyper-growth in global markets, making it a total of USD 51 Mn investment so far. In April, FarEye had raised USD 24.5 Million in Series D from M12 (Microsoft’s venture fund) with participation from Eight Roads Ventures, Honeywell Ventures, and existing investor SAIF Partners.

With a clear mandate to establish Singapore as their hub for international expansion, FarEye recently named Singapore-based ex-Blue Yonder Veteran Amit Bagga as its Chief Revenue Officer. His appointment comes as FarEye undertakes aggressive plans for global expansion. Bagga has established FarEye’s field headquarters in Singapore with investments in sales, solutions, services, and customer success teams, and continues to accelerate investments in the company’s expansion into Europe and the Americas.

"Logistics is the backbone of any given economy, and yet it has been a difficult space to innovate.  We are excited to partner with FarEye as it paves the way for its enterprise customers such as DHL and Walmart to gain flexibility as well as visibility in logistics by providing the easy-to-use platform to manage all moving parts. The newly raised capital will allow the team to deliver additional value to its enterprise customers by bringing in more global talents who will ultimately contribute to the advancement of the platform’s predictive capabilities and customer services. We look forward to FarEye’s contribution to its enterprise customers around the globe both during and post the current pandemic as seamless logistics has never been more vital to their business. We have been deeply impressed with FarEye’s response during the pandemic as a global leader in the logistics SaaS space," said Chunsoo Kim, Managing Director (Head of Global Investment Group) at KB Investment.

About FarEye- https://www.getfareye.com/

CONTACT:
Ms. Komal Puri
komal.puri@getfareye.com

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Acronis True Image 2021 Unites Award-winning Backup with Advanced Antimalware, Creating The First Complete Personal Cyber Protection Solution

Integrating real-time antimalware and on-demand antivirus with its best-of-breed personal backup solution enables Acronis to deliver unmatched value to users

SINGAPORE, Aug. 21, 2020 — Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection, has just announced the release of Acronis True Image 2021. The new release integrates advanced cybersecurity capabilities with unmatched personal backup to create the first complete personal cyber protection solution for home users, prosumers, and small businesses around the world.

Delivery comes as the COVID-19 pandemic exposes gaps in traditional solutions and strategies. Securing home machines has never been more important, yet a recent Acronis survey found nearly half (47%) of remote workers never received clear guidance on working from home.

Incorporating cybersecurity capabilities such as real-time antimalware protection, on-demand antivirus scans, web filtering, and videoconference protection into Acronis True Image ensures users have complete cyber protection. For individuals and small business users, unifying these vital capabilities in one solution makes their protection easier to manage and more affordable, while greatly improving the security.

"As more people work or attend classes from home, the FBI documents a 400% increase in cyberattacks because hackers know home systems are not usually as well-defended as an office," said Serguei "SB" Beloussov, founder and CEO of Acronis. "Backup without cybersecurity is an incomplete option in that situation, as is cybersecurity without backup. Acronis True Image 2021 delivers the easy, efficient, and secure cyber protection needed today."

Standalone backup and cybersecurity are obsolete

With the modern reliance on everyday devices like computers, smartphones, and tablets, the data they contain has an inherent value. Cybercriminals are constantly evolving their attacks to reach that data, which is why security research firms such as AV-Test report more than 350,000 new malware threats every day.

Since backup software and files are often the targets of these new attacks to prevent recovery, backup alone no longer provides suitable protection for users. Similarly, conventional cybersecurity solutions do not provide the data protection and recovery capabilities users need.

Relying on multiple products that were not designed to work together creates security gaps, is more complex to manage, and is more costly. With a single, integrated solution, Acronis True Image 2021 users can proactively stop any malware attack and then quickly restore affected files. The single, intuitive interface reduces the complexity of managing their security and backups.

Integration delivers superior cyber protection

For the last few years, Acronis True Image has been the only personal backup solution with a built-in antiransomware that stops attacks in real-time, while automatically restoring any affected files.

With the launch of Acronis True Image 2021, those capabilities are expanded with the addition of the company’s advanced antimalware technology, which is currently deployed in Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud. This next-gen, full-stack antimalware has been shown by independent security labs such as Virus Bulletin and AV-Test to return a 100% detection rate with zero false-positives.

As a result, home users gain advanced capabilities with Acronis True Image 2021, including:

  • Real-time protection, driven by AI-enhanced behavioral heuristics, which stops all malware — including zero-day attacks by never-before-seen threats
  • On-demand antivirus scans of the full system or quick scans of at-risk files, either of which can be scheduled in advance or run instantly
  • Web filtering that automatically blocks Windows users from accessing malicious websites that harbor malware, disinformation, scams, and phishing attacks
  • Videoconference protection prevent hackers and malware injection attacks from exploiting popular apps like Zoom, Cisco Webex, and Microsoft Teams
  • Comprehensive detection, with both behavioral analysis and signature-based analysis engines

These advanced antimalware capabilities are included with Advanced and Premium licenses, and offered as a three-month trial with Standard and Essential licenses.

Pricing and availability

Four versions of Acronis True Image are available: Standard, Essential, Advanced and Premium. One-computer licenses starting at US$59.99 for Standard and US$49.99 for Essential. Special launch prices for Advanced and Premium licenses (starting at US$69.99 and US$99.99, respectively) are available until November 2020, at which time the full MSRP will be in effect (starting at US$89.99 and US$124.99, respectively).

About Acronis

Acronis unifies data protection and cybersecurity to deliver integrated, automated cyber protection that solves the safety, accessibility, privacy, authenticity, and security (SAPAS) challenges of the modern digital world. With flexible deployment models that fit the demands of service providers and IT professionals, Acronis provides superior cyber protection for data, applications, and systems with innovative next-generation antivirus, backup, disaster recovery, and endpoint protection management solutions. With award-winning AI-based anti-malware and blockchain-based data authentication technologies, Acronis protects any environment — from cloud to hybrid to on-premises — at a low and predictable cost.

Founded in Singapore in 2003 and incorporated in Switzerland in 2008, Acronis now has more than 1,500 employees in 33 locations in 18 countries. Its solutions are trusted by more than 5.5 million home users and 500,000 companies, including 100% of the Fortune 1000, and top-tier professional sports teams. Acronis products are available through 50,000 partners and service providers in over 150 countries in more than 40 languages. For more information, please visit www.acronis.com.

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