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PR Newswire

Baidu to Hold Extraordinary General Meeting on March 1, 2021

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BEIJING, Jan. 22, 2021 — Baidu, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU) ("Baidu" or the "Company"), a leading Internet platform and AI company, today announced that it will hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (the "EGM") at 11:00 a.m. on March 1, 2021 (Beijing time) at the address of No. 10 Shangdi 10th Street, Haidian District, Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.

A proposal of changing the Company’s authorized share capital by one-to-eighty subdivision of shares ("Share Subdivision") will be submitted to Baidu’s shareholders to be considered and voted upon at the EGM. Subject to the approval of the Share Subdivision at the EGM, Baidu’s board of directors (the "Board") has approved a change in the American depositary share ("ADS") ratio proportionate to the Share Subdivision from ten (10) ADSs representing one (1) Class A ordinary share to one (1) ADS representing eight (8) Class A ordinary shares (the "ADS Ratio Change"), to take effect on March 1, 2021. For Baidu’s ADS holders, the percentage interest in the Company represented by each ADS will not be altered, and the impact on the Company’s per-ADS trading price on Nasdaq is neutral. Holders of ADSs need not take any action in regards to the ADS Ratio Change.

The Board has fixed the close of business on January 28, 2021 (Eastern Standard Time) as the record date (the "Record Date") for determining the shareholders entitled to receive notice of, and to attend, the EGM or any adjourned or postponed meeting thereof. Holders of record of the Company’s Class A or Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.00005 per share, at the close of business on the Record Date are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the EGM or any adjournment or postponement thereof. Holders of the Company’s ADSs who wish to exercise their voting rights for the underlying Class A ordinary shares must act through the depositary of the Company’s ADS program, The Bank of New York Mellon (the "Depositary"). The notice of the EGM, which sets forth the resolutions to be submitted to shareholder approval at the meeting, is available on the Company’s website at http://ir.baidu.com.  

About Baidu

Baidu, Inc. is a leading search engine, knowledge-and-information centered Internet platform and AI company. The Company’s mission is to make the complicated world simpler through technology. Baidu’s ADSs trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "BIDU". Currently, ten ADSs represent one Class A ordinary share.

Contacts

Investors Relations, Baidu, Inc.
Tel: +86-10-5992-8888
Email: ir@baidu.com

Related Links :

http://www.baidu.com

PR Newswire

China Distance Education Holdings Limited Files Annual Report on Form 20-F

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BEIJING, Jan. 22, 2021 — 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 has filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The annual report can be accessed on the Company’s investor relations website at http://ir.cdeledu.com under the section titled "Financials – Annual Reports."

CDEL will provide a hard copy of its complete audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020, free of charge, to its shareholders and ADS holders upon request. Requests should be directed to our IR representatives stated below, or in writing to China Distance Education Holdings Limited, 18th Floor, Xueyuan International Tower, 1 Zhichun Road, Haidian District, Beijing China, 100083.

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. 
Jenny Cai 
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

PR Newswire

New Oriental Announces FY2021 Second Quarter and Interim Financial Results (Ended November 30, 2020)

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Quarterly Net Revenues Increased by 13.1% Year-Over-Year

Quarterly Student Enrollments Increased by 10.4% Year-Over-Year

BEIJING, Jan. 22, 2021 — New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (the "Company" or "New Oriental") (NYSE: EDU and SEHK: 9901), the largest provider of private educational services in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second fiscal quarter ended November 30, 2020, which is the second quarter of New Oriental’s fiscal year 2021.   

Financial Highlights for the Second Fiscal Quarter Ended November 30, 2020

  • Total net revenues increased by 13.1% year-over-year to US$887.7 million for the second fiscal quarter of 2021.
  • Operating loss was US$32.1 million for the second fiscal quarter of 2021, compared to an income of US$25.3 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
  • Net income attributable to New Oriental was US$53.9 million, represented an increase of 0.9% in the same period of the prior fiscal year.

Key Financial Results

(in thousands US$, except per ADS(1) data)

2Q FY2021

2Q FY2020

% of change

Net revenues

887,689

785,211

13.1%

Operating (loss) / income

(32,147)

25,299

–

Non-GAAP operating (loss) / income (2)(3)

(13,667)

36,514

–

Net income attributable to New Oriental

53,902

53,437

0.9%

Non-GAAP net income attributable to New Oriental (2)(3)

69,140

56,987

21.3%

Net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental – basic

0.33

0.34

-0.9%

Net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental – diluted

0.33

0.34

-0.7%

Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental – basic(3)(4)

0.43

0.36

19.1%

Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental – diluted(3)(4)

0.43

0.36

19.4%

(in thousands US$, except per ADS(1) data)

1H FY2021

1H FY2020

% of change

Net revenues

1,874,055

1,856,988

0.9%

Operating income

118,158

271,495

-56.5%

Non-GAAP operating income (2)(3)

152,471

293,730

-48.1%

Net income attributable to New Oriental

228,554

262,427

-12.9%

Non-GAAP net income attributable to New Oriental (2)(3)

253,666

287,149

-11.7%

Net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental – basic

1.43

1.66

-13.9%

Net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental – diluted

1.42

1.65

-13.6%

Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental – basic(3)(4)

1.58

1.81

-12.6%

Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental – diluted(3)(4)

1.58

1.80

-12.4%

 

(1)   Each ADS represents one common share. The Hong Kong-listed shares are fully fungible with the ADSs listed on NYSE.

(2)   GAAP represents Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America.

(3)   New Oriental provides net income attributable to New Oriental, operating income / (loss) and net income
per ADS attributable to New Oriental on a non-GAAP basis that excludes share-based compensation
expenses and loss from fair value change of long-term investments to provide supplemental information
regarding its operating performance. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures,
please see the section captioned "About Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and the tables captioned
"Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to the Most Comparable GAAP Measures" set forth at the end
of this release.

(4)   The Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental is computed using Non-GAAP net
income attributable to New Oriental and the same number of shares and ADSs used in GAAP basic and
diluted EPS calculation.

Operating Highlights for the Second Fiscal Quarter Ended November 30, 2020

  • Total student enrollments in academic subjects tutoring and test preparation courses increased by 10.4% year-over-year to approximately 4,183,100 for the second fiscal quarter of 2021.
  • The total number of schools and learning centers was 1,518 as of November 30, 2020, an increase of 214 compared to 1,304 as of November 30, 2019, and an increase of 46 compared to 1,472 as of August 31, 2020. The total number of schools was 117 as of November 30, 2020.

Michael Yu, New Oriental’s Executive Chairman, commented, "We are pleased to see the recovery of businesses for the autumn semester after the resumption of schools and learning centers since the end of September 2020. As the pandemic situation in China has been stabilized and effectively controlled during the quarter, our businesses in most of the cities resumed and managed to deliver encouraging results. Net revenue for the second quarter was in line with our expectation, up 13.1% year over year. Our key growth driver, K-12 all-subjects after-school tutoring business, achieved year-over-year revenue growth of approximately 26%. U-Can middle and high school all-subjects after-school tutoring business grew by approximately 27%, while our POP Kids program recorded a growth of approximately 24%. Overseas related businesses are still under pressure due to the uncertainty of the pandemic situation and travel restrictions around the globe. The overseas test preparation business declined by approximately 29%, yet the overseas consulting and study tour business increased by 6%, respectively. Looking ahead, we believe our business are in good recovery progress and will gradually pickup the momentum in the coming quarters. As one of the market leaders in China, we are confident that our exceptional products and services, as well as our constantly enhanced learning experience would enable us to capture more market share and deliver long-term value for our shareholders."

Chenggang Zhou, New Oriental’s Chief Executive Officer, added, "We expect the industry will undergo a wave of market consolidation once the pandemic fades away. We remain committed to ramp up our expansion effort to get prepared for further taking market share from other players post-COVID. During this quarter, we opened five new offline training schools in new cities. The total square meters of classroom area by the end of this quarter increased approximately 21% year-over-year, and 4% quarter-over-quarter. Student enrollments for K-12 after-school tutoring business during the quarter increase by 15% year-over-year. At the same time, we continued to execute our OMO (online merging offline) strategy, which enables our services to virtually reach a broader pool of students in existing cities and the surrounding satellite cities. In the autumn semester, we piloted the OMO online courses in vast majority existing cities and around 20 new surrounding satellite cities, attracting a promising number of new customers, accompanied by satisfactory student retention with low customer acquisition cost. We believe these OMO initiatives, featured with localized and differentiating content, will effectively boost enrollments and revenue with low customer acquisition cost and enable us to capture more market opportunity and improve our overall profitability over the long term. Last but not least, our pure online education platform, Koolearn.com has also invested more resources in upgrading their APP and online platforms, enhancing students’ overall in-class learning experience and the teacher training system."

Stephen Zhihui Yang, New Oriental’s Executive President and Chief Financial Officer, commented, "With the gradual recovery of our topline, our margins trended better. Our Non-GAAP operating margin for the quarter was negative 1.5%, down 620 basis points year-over-year, represented a smaller year-over-year decline comparing with the previous quarter. Non-GAAP net margin for the quarter was 7.8%, up 50 basis points year-over-year.  We will continue to  make efforts on cost control and reducing expenditures during pandemics period and be cautious in making investment in our OMO initiatives and pure online education platform to keep balancing the growth and profitability. We are confident in a better margin recovery when the pandemic is over. "

Financial Results for the Second Fiscal Quarter Ended November 30, 2020

Net Revenues

For the second fiscal quarter of 2021, New Oriental reported net revenues of US$887.7 million, representing a 13.1% increase year-over-year. Net revenues from educational programs and services for the second fiscal quarter were US$833.0 million, representing a 15.2% increase year-over-year. The growth was mainly driven by increases in student enrollments in K-12 after-school tutoring courses.

Total student enrollments in academic subjects tutoring and test preparation courses in the second fiscal quarter of 2021 increased by 10.4% year-over-year to approximately 4,183,100.

Operating Costs and Expenses

Operating costs and expenses for the quarter were US$919.8 million, representing a 21.0% increase year-over-year. Non-GAAP operating costs and expenses for the quarter, which exclude share-based compensation expenses, were US$901.4 million, representing a 20.4% increase year-over-year.

  • Cost of revenues increased by 26.4% year-over-year to US$453.7 million, primarily due to increases in teachers’ compensation for more teaching hours and higher rental costs for the increased number of schools and learning centers in operation.
  • Selling and marketing expenses increased by 23.9% year-over-year to US$133.6 million, primarily due to the addition of a number of customer service representatives and marketing staffs with the aim of capturing the new market opportunity during the COVID-19 period, especially for new initiatives in K-12 tutoring on our pure online education platform, Koolearn.com.
  • General and administrative expenses for the quarter increased by 13.5% year-over-year to US$332.6 million. Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses, which exclude share-based compensation expenses, were US$319.8 million, representing a 13.4% increase year-over-year.

Total share-based compensation expenses, which were allocated to related operating costs and expenses, increased by 64.8% to US$18.5 million in the second fiscal quarter of 2021.

Operating Loss / Income and Operating Margin

Operating loss for the quarter was US$32.1 million, compared to an income of US$25.3 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year. Non-GAAP loss from operations for the quarter was US$13.7 million, compared to an income of US$36.5 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.

Operating margin for the quarter was negative 3.6%, compared to 3.2% in the same period of the prior fiscal year. Non-GAAP operating margin, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, for the quarter was negative 1.5%, compared to 4.7% in the same period of the prior fiscal year.

Net Income and EPS

Net income attributable to New Oriental for the quarter was US$53.9 million, representing a 0.9% increase from the same period of the prior fiscal year. Basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to New Oriental were US$0.33 and US$0.33, respectively.

Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP EPS

Non-GAAP net income attributable to New Oriental for the quarter was US$69.1 million, representing a 21.3% increase from the same period of the prior fiscal year. Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to New Oriental were US$0.43 and US$0.43, respectively.

Cash Flow

Net operating cash flow for the second fiscal quarter of 2021 was approximately US$410.7 million. Capital expenditures for the quarter were US$62.0 million, which were primarily attributable to opening of 78 facilities and renovations at existing learning centers.

Balance Sheet

As of November 30, 2020, New Oriental had cash and cash equivalents of US$2,643.2 million, as compared to US$915.1 million as of May 31, 2020. In addition, the Company had US$416.1 million in term deposits, US$3,035.3 million in short-term investments.

New Oriental’s deferred revenue balance, which is cash collected from registered students for courses and recognized proportionally as revenue as the instructions are delivered, at the end of the second quarter of fiscal year 2021 was US$1,987.1 million, an increase of 26.5% as compared to US$1,570.4 million at the end of the second quarter of fiscal year 2020.

Financial Results for the Six Months Ended November 30, 2020

For the first six months of fiscal year 2021, New Oriental reported net revenues of US$1,874.1 million, representing a 0.9% increase year-over-year.

Total student enrollments in academic subjects tutoring and test preparation courses in the first six months of fiscal year 2021 increased by 11.7% to approximately 7,144,200.

Operating income for the first six months of fiscal year 2021 was US$118.2 million, representing a 56.5% decrease year-over-year. Non-GAAP operating income for the first six months of fiscal year 2021 was US$152.5 million, representing a 48.1% decrease year-over-year.

Operating margin for the first six months of fiscal year 2021 was 6.3%, compared to 14.6% for the same period of the prior fiscal year. Non-GAAP operating margin, which excludes share-based compensation expenses for the first six months of fiscal year 2021, was 8.1%, compared to 15.8% for the same period of the prior fiscal year.

Net income attributable to New Oriental for the first six months of fiscal year 2021 was US$228.6 million, representing a 12.9% decrease year-over-year. Basic and diluted net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental for the first six months of fiscal year 2021 amounted to US$1.43 and US$1.42, respectively.

Non-GAAP net income attributable to New Oriental for the first six months of fiscal year 2021 was US$253.7 million, representing an 11.7% decrease year-over-year. Non-GAAP basic and diluted net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental for the first six months of fiscal year 2021 amounted to US$1.58 and US$1.58, respectively.

Koolearn’s Financial Highlights for the Six Months Ended November 30, 2020

New Oriental’s subsidiary, Koolearn Technology Holdings Limited ("Koolearn") (1797.SEHK), a leading online extracurricular education service provider in China listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, announced its financial results under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") for the first six months of fiscal year 2021. Koolearn’s financial information in this section is presented in accordance with IFRS.

For the first six months ended November 30, 2020, Koolearn recorded revenues of RMB676.8 million (US$102.9 million), representing a 19.2% increase year-over-year, and recorded a net loss of RMB674.4million (US$102.6 million), a 670.6% increase compared to a net loss of RMB87.5 million (US$13.3 million) in the same period of the prior fiscal year. Koolearn’s gross profit was RMB153.1 million (US$23.3 million) and gross profit margin was 22.6% for the six months ended November 30, 2020.  

To capture the huge market opportunity in online education area, Koolearn continued to invest more resources in executing new initiatives in online K-12 after school tutoring business in fiscal year 2021. This includes content development, teacher recruitment and training, sales and marketing, R&D and other costs and expenses that are necessary to drive the growth of new online programs. Starting from fiscal year 2021, Koolearn also conducted a restructuring of the college education business line with more focus on redesigning and upgrading of products and services and improving operational efficiency with more synergies between Koolearn and offline schools in respect of branding, education resources and services and multi-channel marketing. The online K-12 after-school tutoring business reported a year-over-year revenue growth of approximately 162.9% and a year-over-year student enrollment growth of approximately 143.4%. More specifically, student enrolments for its location-based live interactive after-school tutoring courses ("DFUB") and Koolearn K-12 courses grew by 170.3% and 134.4% year-over-year, respectively. As of November 30, 2020, the DFUB courses have been released in 271 cities in China.

The translations of RMB amounts into U.S. dollars in this section are presented solely for the convenience of the readers. The conversion of RMB into U.S. dollars is based on the exchange rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System as of November 30, 2020, which was RMB6.5760 to US$1.00. The percentages stated in this section are calculated based on the RMB amounts.

Other Developments

On November 9, 2020, New Oriental successfully listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code "9901", with a global offering of 9,786,500 new common shares (including the exercise of the over-allotment option on November 16, 2020). The Hong Kong-listed shares are fully fungible with our ADSs listed on the New York Stock Exchange, based on the ratio of one common share to one ADS. The net proceeds from the global offering (including the issuance under the over-allotment option), after deducting underwriting fees and offering expenses, amounted to approximately HK$11,493.2 million (US$1,482.8 million).

Outlook for Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2021

New Oriental anticipates total net revenues in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021 (December 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021) to be in the range of US$ 1,098.6 million to US$1,144.8 million, representing year-over-year growth in the range of 19% to 24%.

The above figures reflect New Oriental’s current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Conference Call Information

New Oriental’s management will host an earnings conference call at 8 AM on January 22, 2021, U.S. Eastern Time (9 PM on January 22, 2021, Beijing/Hong Kong Time). Participants can join the conference using the below options:

Dialling-in to the conference call:

Please register in advance of the conference, using the link provided below. Upon registering, you will be provided with participant dial-in numbers, passcode and unique registrant ID.

Conference call registration link: https://apac.directeventreg.com/registration/event/1083313. It will automatically direct you to the registration page of "New Oriental Second Fiscal Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call" where you may fill in your details for RSVP. If it requires you to enter a participant conference ID, please enter "1083313".

In the 10 minutes prior to the call start time, you may use the conference access information (including dial in number(s), direct event passcode and registrant ID) provided in the confirmation email received at the point of registering.

Joining the conference call via a live webcast:

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available at http://investor.neworiental.org.

Listening to the conference call replay:

A replay of the conference call may be accessed by phone at the following number until January 28, 2021:

International:

+61 2 8199 0299

Passcode: 

1083313

About New Oriental

New Oriental is the largest provider of private educational services in China offering a wide range of educational programs, services and products to a varied student population throughout China. New Oriental’s program, service and product offerings consist of K-12 after-school tutoring, test preparation, language training for adults, pre-school education, primary and secondary school education, education materials and distribution, online education, and other services. New Oriental is listed on NYSE (NYSE: EDU) and SEHK (9901.SEHK) respectively. New Oriental’s ADSs, each of which represents one common share. The Hong Kong-listed shares are fully fungible with the ADSs listed on NYSE.

For more information about New Oriental, please visit http://www.neworiental.org/english/.

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," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the outlook for the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, quotations from management in this announcement, as well as New Oriental’s strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. New Oriental may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual reports to shareholders, 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 New Oriental’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: our ability to attract students without a significant decrease in course fees; our ability to continue to hire, train and retain qualified teachers; our ability to maintain and enhance our "New Oriental" brand; our ability to effectively and efficiently manage the expansion of our school network and successfully execute our growth strategy; the outcome of ongoing, or any future, litigation or arbitration, including those relating to copyright and other intellectual property rights; competition in the private education sector in China; changes in our revenues and certain cost or expense items as a percentage of our revenues; the expected growth of the Chinese private education market; Chinese governmental policies relating to private educational services and providers of such services; health epidemics and other outbreaks in China; and general economic conditions in China. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in our annual report on Form 20-F and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New Oriental does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and New Oriental undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement New Oriental’s consolidated financial results presented in accordance with GAAP, New Oriental uses the following measures defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the SEC: net income excluding share-based compensation expenses and gain / (loss) from fair value change of long-term investments, operating income / (loss) excluding share-based compensation expenses, operating cost and expenses excluding share-based compensation expenses, general and administrative expenses excluding share-based compensation expenses, operating margin excluding share-based compensation expenses, and basic and diluted net income per ADS and per share excluding share-based compensation expenses and gain / (loss) from fair value change of long-term investments. 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 tables captioned "Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures" set forth at the end of this release.

New Oriental believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity by excluding share-based compensation expenses and gain / (loss) from fair value change of long-term investments that may not be indicative of its operating performance from a cash perspective. New Oriental believes that both management and investors benefit from referring to 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 New Oriental’s historical performance and liquidity. New Oriental believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors in allowing for greater transparency with respect to supplemental information used by management in its financial and operational decision making. A limitation of using these non-GAAP measures is that they exclude share-based compensation expenses and gain / (loss) from fair value change of long-term investments that has been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant recurring expense in our business. Management compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from each non-GAAP measure. The accompanying tables have more details on the reconciliations between GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures.

Contacts

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

Ms. Rita Fong

Ms. Sisi Zhao

FTI Consulting  

New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc.

Tel: +852 3768 4548

Tel: +86-10-6260-5568

Email: rita.fong@fticonsulting.com

Email: zhaosisi@xdf.cn

 

 

NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands)

As of November 30

As of May 31

2020

2020

(Unaudited)

(Audited)

USD

USD

ASSETS:

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

2,643,243

915,057

Term deposits

416,134

284,793

Short-term investments

3,035,283

2,318,280

Accounts receivable, net

6,122

4,178

Inventory, net

30,737

31,324

Prepaid expenses and other current assets, net

226,835

199,404

Amounts due from related parties, current

5,866

3,384

Total current assets

6,364,220

3,756,420

Restricted cash, non-current

4,881

4,367

Property and equipment, net

779,193

672,455

Land use rights, net

13,511

6,037

Amounts due from related parties, non-current

2,335

22,709

Long-term deposits

66,296

62,116

Intangible assets, net

10,141

10,246

Goodwill, net

93,195

80,366

Long-term investments, net

507,733

431,101

Deferred tax assets, non-current, net

57,509

63,324

Right-of-use assets

1,562,225

1,425,466

Other non-current assets

16,721

22,278

Total assets

9,477,960

6,556,885

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

Current liabilities:

  Accounts payable (including accounts payable of the consolidated variable interest entities without
recourse to New Oriental of  US$31,658 and US$32,400 as of May 31, 2020 and November 30, 2020,
respectively)

32,975

33,147

  Accrued expenses and other current liabilities (including accrued expenses and other current
liabilities of the consolidated variable interest entities without recourse to New Oriental of
US$581,576 and US$593,688 as of May 31, 2020 and November 30, 2020, respectively)

652,821

634,619

  Income taxes payable (including income tax payable of the consolidated variable interest entities
without recourse to New Oriental of US$87,331 and US$90,299 as of May 31, 2020 and November
30, 2020, respectively)

104,553

101,385

  Amounts due to related parties (including amounts due to related parties of the consolidated variable
interest entities without recourse to New Oriental of US$1,590 and US$97 as of May 31, 2020 and
November 30, 2020, respectively)

104

1,590

  Deferred revenue (including deferred revenue of the consolidated variable interest entities without
recourse to New Oriental of  US$1,317,645 and US$1,982,534 as of May 31, 2020 and
November 30, 2020, respectively)

1,987,106

1,324,384

  Operating lease liabilities-current (including operating lease liabilities-current of the consolidated
variable interest entities without recourse to New Oriental of US$376,177 and US$397,735 as of May
31, 2020 and November 30, 2020, respectively)

436,480

384,239

Total current liabilities

3,214,039

2,479,364

  Deferred tax liabilities, non-current (including deferred tax liabilities, non-current of the consolidated
variable interest entities without recourse to New Oriental of US$12,392 and US$17,312 as of May
31, 2020 and November 30, 2020, respectively)

19,296

11,906

  Long term loan (including Long term loan of the consolidated variable interest entities without
recourse to New Oriental of nil and nil as of May 31, 2020 and November 30, 2020, respectively)

–

117,881

  Unsecured senior notes (including unsecured senior notes of the consolidated variable interest entities
without recourse to the New Oriental of nil and nil as of May 31, 2020 and November 30, 2020,
respectively)

299,969

–

  Operating lease liabilities (including operating lease liabilities of the consolidated variable interest
entities without recourse to New Oriental of US$1,054,149 and US$1,126,587 as of May 31, 2020 and
November 30, 2020, respectively)

1,128,128

1,077,923

Total long-term liabilities

1,447,393

1,207,710

Total liabilities

4,661,432

3,687,074

Equity

  New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. shareholders’ equity

4,703,903

2,733,295

  Non-controlling interests

112,625

136,516

Total equity

4,816,528

2,869,811

Total liabilities and equity

9,477,960

6,556,885

 

 

NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands except for per share and per ADS amounts)

For the Three Months Ended November 30

2020

2019

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

USD

USD

Net revenues

887,689

785,211

Operating cost and expenses (note 1)

 Cost of revenues

453,663

358,962

 Selling and marketing

133,588

107,847

 General and administrative

332,585

293,103

Total operating cost and expenses

919,836

759,912

Operating (loss)/income

(32,147)

25,299

(Loss)/gain from fair value change of long-term investments

(3,400)

6,713

Other income, net

65,929

27,216

Provision for income taxes

(6,817)

(14,077)

Gain from equity method investments

4,214

4,432

Net income

27,779

49,583

Add: Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests

26,123

3,854

Net income attributable to New Oriental Education & Technology
Group Inc.’s shareholders

53,902

53,437

Net income per common share / ADS

       – Basic

0.33

0.34

       – Diluted

0.33

0.34

 

 

NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.

RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES TO THE MOST COMPARABLE GAAP MEASURES

(In thousands except for per share and per ADS amounts)

For the Three Months Ended November 30

2020

2019

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

USD

USD

General and administrative expenses

332,585

293,103

Less: Share-based compensation expenses in general and
administrative expenses

12,794

10,988

Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses

319,791

282,115

Total operating cost and expenses

919,836

759,912

Less: Share-based compensation expenses

18,480

11,215

Non-GAAP operating cost and expenses

901,356

748,697

Operating (loss)/income

(32,147)

25,299

Add: Share-based compensation expenses

18,480

11,215

Non-GAAP operating (loss)/income

(13,667)

36,514

Operating margin

-3.6%

3.2%

Non-GAAP operating margin

-1.5%

4.7%

Net income attributable to New Oriental

53,902

53,437

Add: Share-based compensation expenses

11,838

10,263

Less: (Loss)/gain from fair value change of long-term
investments

(3,400)

6,713

Non-GAAP net income attributable to New Oriental

69,140

56,987

Net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental- Basic (note
2)

0.33

0.34

Net  income per ADS attributable to New Oriental- Diluted
(note 2)

0.33

0.34

Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental
– Basic (note 2)

0.43

0.36

Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental
– Diluted (note 2)

0.43

0.36

Weighted average shares used in calculating basic net income
per ADS (note 2)

161,336,407

158,429,080

Weighted average shares used in calculating diluted net
income per ADS (note 2)

161,931,458

159,374,555

Non-GAAP income per share – basic

0.43

0.36

Non-GAAP income per share – diluted

0.43

0.36

 

Notes:

Note 1: Share-based compensation expenses (in thousands) are included in the operating cost and expenses as follows:

For the Three Months Ended November 30

2020

2019

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

USD

USD

Cost of revenues

2,353

21

Selling and marketing

3,333

206

General and administrative

12,794

10,988

Total

18,480

11,215

 

 

NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

For the Three Months Ended November 30

2020

2019

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

USD

USD

Net cash provided by operating activities

410,678

291,757

Net cash used in investing activities

(327,896)

(226,638)

Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities

1,465,618

(6,291)

Effect of exchange rate changes

47,245

15,654

Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

1,595,645

74,482

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period

1,052,479

976,883

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period

2,648,124

1,051,365

 

 

NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands except for per share and per ADS amounts)

For the Six Months Ended November 30

2020

2019

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

USD

USD

Net revenues

1,874,055

1,856,988

Operating costs and expenses (note 1):

 Cost of revenues

918,529

799,191

 Selling and marketing

250,471

209,040

 General and administrative

586,897

577,262

Total operating costs and expenses

1,755,897

1,585,493

Operating income

118,158

271,495

Loss from fair value change of long-term investments

(2,154)

(4,569)

Other income, net

127,501

47,169

Provision for income taxes

(65,939)

(64,913)

Gain from equity method investments

1,047

3,629

Net income

178,613

252,811

Add: Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests

49,941

9,616

Net income attributable to New Oriental Education & Technology
Group Inc.

228,554

262,427

Net income per share attributable to New Oriental-Basic

1.43

1.66

Net income per share attributable to New Oriental-Diluted

1.42

1.65

Net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental-Basic (note 2)

1.43

1.66

Net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental-Diluted (note 2)

1.42

1.65

 

 

NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.

RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES TO THE MOST COMPARABLE GAAP MEASURES

(In thousands except for per share and per ADS amounts)

For the Six Months Ended November 30

2020

2019

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

USD

USD

General and administrative expenses

586,897

577,262

Less: Share-based compensation expenses in general and
administrative expenses

24,547

21,607

Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses

562,350

555,655

Total operating costs and expenses

1,755,897

1,585,493

Less: Share-based compensation expenses

34,313

22,235

Non-GAAP operating costs and expenses

1,721,584

1,563,258

Operating income

118,158

271,495

Add: Share-based compensation expenses

34,313

22,235

Non-GAAP operating income

152,471

293,730

Operating margin

6.3%

14.6%

Non-GAAP operating margin

8.1%

15.8%

Net income attributable to New Oriental

228,554

262,427

Add: Share-based compensation expenses

22,958

20,153

Less: Loss from fair value change of long-term investments

(2,154)

(4,569)

Non-GAAP net income to New Oriental

253,666

287,149

Net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental- Basic (note 2)

1.43

1.66

Net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental- Diluted (note 2)

1.42

1.65

Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental –
Basic (note 2)

1.58

1.81

Non-GAAP net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental –
Diluted (note 2)

1.58

1.80

Weighted average shares used in calculating basic net income per
ADS (note 2)

160,127,052

158,337,268

Weighted average shares used in calculating diluted net income per
ADS (note 2)

160,843,974

159,520,563

Non-GAAP income per share – basic

1.58

1.81

Non-GAAP income per share – diluted

1.58

1.80

 

Notes:

Note 1: Share-based compensation expenses (in thousands) are included in the operating costs and expenses as follows:

For the Six Months Ended November 30

2020

2019

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

USD

USD

Cost of revenues

3,836

57

Selling and marketing

5,930

571

General and administrative

24,547

21,607

Total

34,313

22,235

Note 2: Each ADS represents one common share.

 

 

NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

For the Six Months Ended November 30

2020

2019

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

USD

USD

Net cash provided by operating activities

802,276

656,326

Net cash used in investing activities

(796,800)

(1,001,867)

Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities

1,641,471

(4,722)

Effect of exchange rate changes

81,753

(16,599)

Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

1,728,700

(366,862)

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period

919,424

1,418,227

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period

2,648,124

1,051,365

 

 

Related Links :

http://english.neworiental.org

PR Newswire

FirstString – The Recruitment App Built By HokuApps Helping Job Seekers During COVID-19

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FirstString Specializes in Connecting Life Science Professionals with Top-Tier Companies

ATHENS, Ga., Jan. 22, 2021 — In an effort to overcome the new challenges to the corporate and hospital hiring process due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore’s leading app company, HokuApps, has developed and deployed an innovative app for Georgia-based recruitment firm, Career Crafters, LLC. Since its launch, the app, FirstString, has proven to be an essential tool for Career Crafters – and an opportunity to maintain a human connection in a rapidly-distancing world. Career Crafters’ FirstString mobile employment app connects selected high-performing Pharmaceutical and Biotech commercial individuals to top-tier Health Science companies. It also provides a critical need during the pandemic of connecting hospitals to residents and other healthcare professionals who are looking for their first job to help an already overburdened healthcare system. The app is designed to take away bias and adds transparency to the job search process by allowing individuals the opportunity to provide a video resume and tell their own story of success and accomplishment.

FirstString was engineered to serve as a complementary tool for corporate HR and Talent Acquisition teams. It provides confidential portal access to two types of candidates: those that have been professionally sourced and screened, and those that have appropriate experience and documentable performance. FirstString provides this premium service at a fraction of the cost of a traditional recruiter with an absolute guarantee for every placement.

One of the key aspects of FirstString for job seekers is the fact that it’s one of the only career connection platforms which is completely confidential – employers can only see a profile if they receive permission from the job seeker. So, this enables job seekers to search for a new job while employed in complete security. Interviews with potential employers can be easily scheduled through the app and job offers are sent directly in real-time. Additionally, it offers valuable resources to job seekers such as professional interview coaching, the option to upload video recommendations from previous customers and employers, and in-app resume assistance to help stand out from the crowd. FirstString is also the first platform to offer secure storage of your professional portfolio, including your Bragg Book, licensing, and video references to be easily accessed by future employers.

For recruiters, it provides a confidential portal with features such as the ability to securely import candidates, post-screening notes of vetted candidates for employers, and easy tracking of candidate interviews with instant alerts when they are scheduled along with progress reports at every step of the hiring process. All of these assets are provided without a contract with the employer.

"HokuApps has been great to work with", said Barry Jones, Founder of FirstString. "All of our goals and functionalities were combined into an efficient and also great-looking app. Along the way, they suggested some features that we hadn’t thought about ourselves. We highly recommend them for anyone’s mobile development needs."

"FirstString makes job searching much simpler and also discreet for the high-level life science professionals", said Nand Kapoor, Director of HokuApps, LLC. "But it is much more than just a job search board. FirstString approached us with the plan to create a comprehensive career advancement tool with features such as resume assistance, interview coaching, and even career path validation services."

About HokuApps

HokuApps helps businesses to turn their business ideas into elegant mobile applications at an incredible speed. HokuApps develops the most technologically advanced and secure omnichannel applications, with an excellent user experience, empower employees with actionable insights wherever they are and whenever they need it. It helps seamlessly connect to anything and everything, build an app once, and deploy on all the platforms.

PR Newswire

SAP Hong Kong and Deloitte Help Cross-Border Businesses Navigate Ongoing Trade Complexity

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HONG KONG, Jan. 22, 2021 — As COVID-19 continues to disrupt the trade industry, SAP Hong Kong and Deloitte are working continuously to help enterprises navigate a more complex and turbulent trade environment with SAP Global Trade Services (SAP GTS).

As the market share leader in the global trade compliance systems sector, SAP has various solutions including GTS that have been successfully deployed in nearly 3,000 enterprises in 25 industries and more than 170 countries. A centralized global trade management platform that automates and streamline trade processes, SAP GTS enables enterprises to better control costs, manage free-trade agreements and customs procedures, and reduce non-compliance risk. Deployed on-premises or in the cloud, it serves as a repository for all compliance master data and content, allowing businesses to integrate all of their trade services. 

Working closely with SAP, Deloitte offers one-stop end-to-end global trade services, including SAP GTS-enabled Smart GTS serving as a "direct train" to global trade and help enterprises achieve compliance, cost reduction, intelligence and synergy for global trade management in the increasingly complex international trade environment, and thus implement their global development strategies. Its integrated global practice offers a mix of multidisciplinary trade specialists with extensive experience in compliance, customs, preferential trade agreements, technology implementation know-how and unmatched experience across industries worldwide.

Fabian Padilla Crisol, Managing Director, SAP Hong Kong, said, "Business leaders in high-tech, life sciences, luxury goods, industrial machinery and other sectors understand the importance of optimizing cross-border supply chains. With the support of SAP GTS and Deloitte, these businesses are now well positioned to navigate an increasingly volatile and complex global trade environment in 2021 and beyond."

Andy Zhou, Deloitte Consulting China SAP Offering Leader, said, "To prosper in the dynamic global trade environment, enterprises are required to keep up with the cross-border trade policies and regulations, meet new consumer demand and the development needs of complex supply chains. The combination of Deloitte’s services and SAP GTS technology allows deep integration and seamless connection to establish a stable, efficient and compliant global trade management model and solution."

Key features of SAP GTS include:

  • Customs management: The system enables the seamless flow of corporate supply chain data to external suppliers and regulators, with customs declarations and documentation being automatically generated, shared and managed. This process automation decreases errors and accelerates the customs clearance process for faster and more efficient business operations.
  • Compliance management: SAP GTS enables enterprises to automatically run compliance checks, which includes managing licenses and export controls and scanning up-to-date blacklisted and embargoed countries. This reduces compliance risks and avoids supply chain disruption for business continuity.
  • Trade preference management: The system helps enterprises determine the rules of origin and conduct free-trade agreement planning and management so as to take advantage of preferential tariff treatments and lower business cost.   
  • Global trade analytics: SAP GTS integrates directly with SAP S/4HANA®, SAP ERP and other business software systems. This supports sales, procurement, and logistics processes that are essential to efficient export and import management.

About SAP

SAP’s strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 77% of the world’s transaction revenue touches an SAP® system. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want – without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people’s lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com/hk.

About Deloitte

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited ("DTTL"), its global network of member firms, and their related entities (collectively, the "Deloitte organization"). DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") and each of its member firms and related entities are legally separate and independent entities, which cannot obligate or bind each other in respect of third parties. DTTL and each DTTL member firm and related entity is liable only for its own acts and omissions, and not those of each other. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more.

Deloitte is a leading global provider of audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax and related services. Our global network of member firms and related entities in more than 150 countries and territories (collectively, the "Deloitte organization") serves four out of five Fortune Global 500® companies. Learn how Deloitte’s approximately 330,000 people make an impact that matters at www.deloitte.com.

Deloitte Asia Pacific Limited is a company limited by guarantee and a member firm of DTTL. Members of Deloitte Asia Pacific Limited and their related entities, each of which are separate and independent legal entities, provide services from more than 100 cities across the region, including Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Melbourne, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei and Tokyo.

The Deloitte brand entered the China market in 1917 with the opening of an office in Shanghai. Today, Deloitte China delivers a comprehensive range of audit & assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory and tax services to local, multinational and growth enterprise clients in China. Deloitte China has also made – and continues to make – substantial contributions to the development of China’s accounting standards, taxation system and professional expertise. Deloitte China is a locally incorporated professional services organization, owned by its partners in China.  To learn more about how Deloitte makes an Impact that Matters in China, please connect with our social media platforms at www2.deloitte.com/cn/en/social-media.

This communication contains general information only, and none of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited ("DTTL"), its global network of member firms or their related entities (collectively, the "Deloitte organization") is, by means of this communication, rendering professional advice or services. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your finances or your business, you should consult a qualified professional adviser.

No representations, warranties or undertakings (express or implied) are given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information in this communication, and none of DTTL, its member firms, related entities, employees or agents shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage whatsoever arising directly or indirectly in connection with any person relying on this communication. DTTL and each of its member firms, and their related entities, are legally separate and independent entities.

© 2021. For information, contact Deloitte China.

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP’s future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.
© 2020 SAP SE. All rights reserved.
SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices.

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Zendesk Research Predicts: APAC Business Success in 2021 Hinges on Delivering Exceptional Customer Experiences

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Global Annual Customer Experience Trends Report 2021 shows customers continue to be more demanding, making it harder for businesses in APAC to meet expectations in a post-pandemic world

SINGAPORE, Jan. 22, 2021 — Despite 2020 being a year of far-reaching and rapid transformation in how people live, collaborate, and connect, the global Zendesk (NYSE: ZEN) Customer Experience (CX) Trends Report 2021 shows the customer experience is increasingly crucial to business success and that the most successful companies are adopting new technology at record speed. In fact, new data released today shows that half (53%) of organisations in APAC are planning to invest in CX software more in 2021. At the same time, two in five (44%) customers in the region say that experience is more important to them now compared to a year ago and 67% of companies say their organisation prioritises CX more than a year ago.

Further highlighting the acceleration of technology, a Gartner survey conducted in 2020 found that 91% of organisations said that CX was one of or the primary goal of their digital business transformation efforts.[1]

"We’ve seen companies in APAC embrace digitalisation at an incredible speed this year in response to the dramatic shifts in the operating landscape they’ve had to navigate. Customer experience has never been more important, and we think this accelerated adoption of technology is likely to continue in 2021. Organisations need to ensure they have the right strategies, processes and technology in place to empower customer support teams and drive business success," said Wendy Johnstone, Chief Operating Officer, APAC, Zendesk. 

From navigating changing behaviours to adopting new channels to reimagining the workforce, the Zendesk CX Trends Report 2021 gives companies a roadmap to navigate this new CX landscape so they can champion good customer service at every turn. Top findings include: 

Stay ahead of the digital curve: Companies are adopting technology at light speed, and it’s adapt or get left behind. Organisations identified as ‘high-performing’ in APAC based on customer service metrics such as CSAT and reply speed, are more likely to have adopted omnichannel solutions, with over half (54%) offering self-service in addition to other key channels including phone, email or messaging, compared to just 20% of low performers. 

Be part of a more conversational world: As customers adopt new behaviours, the soaring popularity of messaging apps opens the door for more streamlined, conversational experiences. Sixty-nine percent of customers in APAC have tried a new way to get in touch with customer service in the last year. For many, that includes using messaging for support requests over apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, which have spiked significantly during the pandemic with social messaging up 117% in APAC since February 2020.

Realise the power of employee experience: In an increasingly distributed world, companies must rethink how they work smarter across teams. Many employees still don’t feel like they have the right tools to succeed in this new and often distributed environment, whether it’s keeping track of their performance indicators, staying connected with their colleagues, or feeling supported by their companies. Forty-one percent of managers in APAC say they don’t have the right analytics tools to measure success for remote teams, and 49% of agents don’t have the right tools to work successfully from home.

Set teams up for success by emphasising agility: Facing continued volatility, service and support organisations must find ways to keep up with their customers. Customer experience leaders cited the ability to quickly adapt to the evolving needs of customers as their biggest challenge in 2020 and the highest priority going forward.

Make it easier for customers with a focus on CX: Unprecedented in speed and scale, the recent surge in online channels puts pressure on companies to meet rising expectations as customer experience takes center stage. The vast majority (74%) of customers in APAC say they are willing to spend more with a company that offers a good customer experience, while 75% will still take their business elsewhere following bad experiences.

[1] Gartner, Survey Analysis: Customer Experience Maturity and Investment Priorities, 2020, Ed Thompson, Varun Agarwal, Melissa Davis, 28 July 2020

Additional resources

  • For more, including data and insights by region, industry and company size, go here to read the full report.
  • Check out the virtual event, "CX Trends 2021" here

Methodology

This annual look at the top trends in customer experience combines analysis of the Zendesk Benchmark, a unique data index on how more than 90,000 companies use their support solutions, with the results of surveys gauging the attitudes of more than 8,000 consumers, customer service agents and managers, and technology buyers, in 15 countries, including US, UK, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Spain, Japan, Mexico, India, Singapore, Korea, Italy, the Nordics, and Benelux.

About Zendesk

Zendesk is a service-first CRM company that builds support, sales, and customer engagement software designed to foster better customer relationships. From large enterprises to startups, we believe that powerful, innovative customer experiences should be within reach for every company, no matter the size, industry or ambition. Zendesk serves more than 160,000 customers across a multitude of industries in over 30 languages. Zendesk is headquartered in San Francisco, and operates offices worldwide. Learn more at www.zendesk.com.

PR Newswire

Contrast Security Empowers Zurich to Secure Its Digital Transformation Efforts

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LOS ALTOS, Calif., Jan. 22, 2021 — Contrast Security, the leading developer-centric application security software company, today announced Zurich North America Insurance (Zurich), one of the largest providers of insurance solutions and services, uses Contrast Security to secure applications in development that are critical linchpins in its digital transformation strategy. The collaboration provides Zurich software developers needed tools for writing secure code faster and collaborating with application security peers to reduce application risk. 

"Protecting the information of our customers, our third-party collaborators, and our own systems is a top priority for Zurich North America," said Adam Page, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Zurich North America. "Our applications enable us to deliver differentiated experiences, and our collaboration with Contrast empowers us to shift left by identifying software code issues earlier in the pipeline and in real time with easy-to-follow results."

The applications secured by Contrast Security are used by Zurich North America customers and its employees. Contrast helps Zurich’s development team to address the challenges of today’s advanced threat landscape in real time by automating and streamlining application security. "Contrast takes an innovative approach to application security that enables our developers to work smarter and focus on threats that pose the greatest risk," said Esther Speckhart, the Business Information Security Officer (BISO) at Zurich.

"The early adoption of Contrast Security by Zurich North America is the first step in what will soon be a larger rollout across Zurich as part of our ongoing digital transformation," said Paige Adams, Zurich’s Global Chief Information Security Officer. "Digital transformation has been and continues to be the primary goal for Zurich as we move forward into the new year."

"Prominent insurance providers like Zurich are aggressively driving digital innovation to improve customer experiences and accelerate business growth," said Surag Patel, Chief Strategy Officer at Contrast Security. "Therefore, with substantially more software being created at accelerated speeds and the increasing focus of malicious attackers on the software, the risk of software vulnerabilities in applications has never been greater. Yet, legacy application security approaches simply are unable to keep pace with the speed and agility demanded by modern software development. Contrast transforms application security by using an automated approach via instrumentation to embed security observability into the software development process. This virtually eliminates false positives while empowering developers to detect and remediate vulnerabilities without specialized application security skills."

About Contrast Security

Contrast Security is the leader in modernized application security, embedding code analysis and attack prevention directly into software. Contrast’s patented deep security instrumentation completely disrupts traditional application security approaches with integrated, comprehensive security observability that delivers highly accurate assessment and continuous protection of an entire application portfolio. This eliminates the need for disruptive scanning, expensive infrastructure workloads, and specialized security experts. The Contrast Application Security Platform accelerates development cycles, improves efficiencies and cost, and enables rapid scale while protecting applications from known and unknown threats.

About Zurich North America

Zurich North America is one of the latest providers of insurance solutions and services to businesses and individuals. Its customers represent industries ranging from agriculture to technology and include more than 90 percent of the Fortune 500. Zurich backed the building of some of the most recognizable structures in North America — from the Hoover Dam to the Confederation Bridge. Its North American, LEED® Platform headquarters is located in the Chicago area. Zurich employs approximately 9,000 people in North America and has offices throughout the U.S. and Canada.

CONTACT:
Contrast Security
Patrick Spencer 
patrick.spencer@contrastsecurity.com
888-371-1333

Related Links

Contrast Security

 

PR Newswire

Wondershare Rolls out EdrawMax 10.5 with New Diagram Features and Compatibility Upgrades

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Wondershare EdrawMax allows users to create diagrams freely and efficiently, whether they are engineers, product managers, sales managers, educators, HR, or consultants.

VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 21, 2021 — Wondershare EdrawMax has released its latest 10.5 version to start 2021 with amazing improvements. The update brings a wide range of features to meet its customer’s growing demands such as timeline diagram insert, customized presentation, file protection, and improved compatibility with Microsoft Visio.

Wondershare Rolls out EdrawMax 10.5 with New Diagram Features and Compatibility Upgrades
Wondershare Rolls out EdrawMax 10.5 with New Diagram Features and Compatibility Upgrades

"We are committed to bring the most productive products to our users so that anyone can be the diagram expert in their field with EdrawMax," said Edwin Wang, Product Director of Wondershare EdrawMax. "Compared to its previous version, 10.5 brings a vital upgrade in security options and editing tools, improving the overall user experience".

These are the major updates of Wondershare EdrawMax 10.5:

  • Timeline Diagram Insert: the insert feature has been improved and now allows users to insert different timeline diagrams directly and customize all details easily.
  • Customized Presentations: users can freely capture any zone of the diagram and export it as a new slide on the working canvas.
  • File Protection: Considering our user’s information privacy needs, EdrawMax now supports saving files with a password and grants access to selected people.
  • Microsoft Visio Compatibility: The new version has better compatibility with Visio files and stencils, which improves efficiency to directly import VSSX files into the software.

In addition, EdrawMax provides over 2,000 built-in professional templates and 26,000 drag and drop symbols for users, such as flowchart, floor plan, org chart, Gantt chart, UML, Network and electrical diagram. Users can now make their presentation more vivid and attractive by customizing diverse elements to make their ideas and data more intuitive.

As an effective and intuitive diagramming tool, EdrawMax is trusted by over 25 million users and big enterprises including Amazon, IMB, Dell, CISCO, Intel, HSBC, Samsung, etc., around the world.

Compatibility, Pricing and Languages

EdrawMax is available for Windows, Mac, Linux and as a web-based online platform, and prices start from $99 USD yearly. English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Russian editions are available.

For the latest EdrawMax news and updates, visit edrawsoft.com/edraw-max/or follow us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

About Wondershare

Founded in 2003, Wondershare is a global leader in software development and a pioneer in the field of digital creativity. With powerful technology, the solutions we provide are simple and convenient, making Wondershare trusted by millions of people in more than 150 countries worldwide. We help our users pursue their passions so that, together, we can build a more creative world. www.wondershare.com    

Media Contact
Ellen Cheng
Wondershare
ellenc@wondershare.com

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http://www.wondershare.com

PR Newswire

Diginex Solutions announces first blockchain-enabled enterprise SaaS solution for ESG data reporting across the globe

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HONG KONG, Jan. 21, 2021 — Diginex Solutions, an ESG data software company, today announced that it has launched a first-to-market enterprise SaaS solution that sets a new standard for simple and affordable ESG reporting.

Fueled by the substantial growth of sustainable finance, a company’s ESG—environmental, social and governance—data has become essential for helping investors assess a company’s risk exposure and long-term sustainability. Diginex Solutions’ latest product streamlines essential ESG data reporting, so that companies can efficiently respond to investors, executives, regulators and the public at large. The technology enables companies with limited reporting experience to onboard with a self-guided user journey and share a blockchain-enabled audit trail.

ESG reporting’s prominence and importance is continuing to skyrocket, transforming from a mere  trend into an investment and business necessity. The breadth of reporting covered is comprehensive, and includes climate change, sustainability efforts, resource scarcity, labour practices, talent management, board and staff diversity and inclusivity, executive pay and business ethics, many of which are hot-button topics in the current socio-economic landscape.

What’s more, investors, board directors, and corporate executives are increasingly turning to ESG data to make informed decisions; businesses are also increasingly required to provide this data to be listed on major stock exchanges. Getting ahead of the game with an organization’s ESG reporting is therefore essential as investors look to this data to future-proof their portfolios.

"DiginexESG is democratizing sustainability by introducing an ESG tech reporting solution that is both highly scalable and affordable," says Mark Blick, CEO of Diginex Solutions. "We help companies overwhelmed by sustainability data provision requirements navigate a complex reporting landscape in accordance with global reporting frameworks, making it simple, cost-effective and digital. We are truly pleased by the significant traction our platform is generating from early customers and partners globally."

About Us

Diginex Solutions is an ESG data software company. We partner with companies, asset managers, and governments to collect, surface and share data amongst a complex ecosystem of stakeholders.

CONTACT:

Amanda Whitcroft
Panda PR & Marketing
amanda@pandaprandmarketing.com
pandaprandmarketing.com

 

PR Newswire

Planon acquires a majority stake in real estate software company Reasult B.V.

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NIJMEGEN, Netherlands, Jan. 20, 2021 — The Planon Group and Reasult today announced that Planon has acquired a majority share in Reasult B.V., founded in 2000 and headquartered in Ede (The Netherlands). Reasult is a software company that optimises the financial performance of real estate portfolios and projects. Reasult’s leading software solutions are used by real estate developers, asset managers and social housing corporations in the Dutch- and German-speaking markets. Example customers are Amvest, a.s.r. real estate, VolkerWessels and HANSAINVEST.

The Reasult software suite includes solutions for real estate development, asset- and portfolio- management, valuation management and financial planning. Planon will combine the Reasult applications with its own solutions for asset management and tenant management and engagement, into one software suite. By doing so Planon aims to support real estate owners and investors in optimising the performance of their property portfolio from a financial, building operations and tenant engagement perspective.

Pierre Guelen, CEO and founder of the Planon Group, stated, "This acquisition is one of the first steps in Planon’s ambitious goals to accelerate its future growth. Planon firmly believes in the strength of Reasult’s solutions and its organisation, both from a technical perspective and due to its extensive market knowledge and experience. It is therefore Planon’s plan to continue to expand the Reasult software suite, as it has done with previously acquired solutions such as SamFM and conjectFM. I am very excited about this acquisition and the possibilities it will offer to customers of both organisations to further develop their current solutions into an end-to-end property portfolio management solution."

Aart Zandbergen, CEO at Reasult, said, "As co-founder of Reasult 20 years ago, I am very excited about becoming part of a fast-growing global specialist in the field of building operations and service digitalisation. With this move, Reasult will be able to further fulfil its strategy of offering a leading platform for optimising real estate in the broadest sense. As part of a market leading organisation, our customers and employees will definitely benefit from this strategic step. The Planon and Reasult solutions are complementary which drives synergy and innovation. This collaboration will allow us to serve our customers in the best way possible and deliver innovative products to help real estate companies be ‘the best in class.’"

Related Links :

https://planonsoftware.com