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Finland Tax-System Modernization Program Named Best Project for 2020

HELSINKI, Dec. 22, 2020 — A major IT program that overhauled Finland’s national tax system through implementation of software from Fast Enterprises (FAST) has been recognized as the year’s best project by the Finnish chapter of the International Project Management Association. The recognition marked the first time in five years that a non-infrastructure project has received the award.

Finnish Tax Administration (FTA), the recipient of the 2020 Finland Project of the Year award, was recognized for successfully completing the tax-system modernization program known as the Valmis program—a high stakes undertaking of national significance and the largest IT program in the agency’s history.  

"FTA’s Valmis program was selected from a list of very important and successful projects, including large-scale infrastructure and construction projects," said Ilama Vesa, chairman of Project Professionals Finland, the association that grants the award. "Without an effective tax system, you can’t fund programs and services that are essential to Finland’s citizens. This project provides benefits to people throughout the country."

The five-and-a-half-year Valmis program replaced over 70 legacy tax applications with GenTax, a tax-administration software package from U.S. software developer and government services provider FAST. FAST also served as the program’s prime contractor, providing FTA with project-lifecycle services to implement all of Finland’s major tax and revenue programs in GenTax.

Finland’s tax programs, such as corporate and individual income taxes, value-added tax, real-estate tax, and gift and inheritance taxes, were implemented in GenTax and released to production incrementally over the course of the multi-year program. With the final group of tax programs entering production in late 2019, FTA now uses GenTax to manage over €70 billion in annual tax revenue.

In total, the program entailed the training of over 4,000 new users, integration of more than 250 interfaces for exchanging data with other systems, development of hundreds of agency-specific reports and dashboards based on data managed and tracked by GenTax, and execution of over 50,000 system test scenarios. In addition to automating many tasks that required manual work in FTA’s legacy systems, the GenTax system also provides web-based taxpayer self-service features that greatly increased the number of tax returns filed online in 2019. 

Carmen Kurushima, a FAST associate partner and the company’s project manager for the Valmis program, said commitment and coordination between multiple program stakeholders were key to project success.

"Projects of this scope and complexity don’t succeed unless there is buy-in and communication from all individuals and organizations involved in the project," Kurushima said. "The entire Valmis team was dedicated to project collaboration and a common goal—successfully implementing GenTax as Finland’s modernized tax system."

In addition to FTA and FAST, multiple public and private-sector organizations played an important role on the program. Nortal, a Finland-based provider of consulting and technology services, supported the implementation of GenTax as a subcontractor to FAST. FTA partner agencies and additional organizations throughout Finland and the European Union also provided program support, helping to ensure that interfaces with external systems were securely implemented and tested within scheduled program milestones.

"This was a truly transformational program for FTA," said Virpi Pikkarainen, FTA program director. "It not only changed the technology that we use to manage Finland’s tax programs, it also changed our business processes, allowing us to provide more effective and efficient services to our taxpayers."

James Harrison, a FAST founding partner, agreed that the VALMIS program was a major achievement and said that its success is particularly rewarding considering the many challenges on the project.

"When you consider that hundreds of program personnel from different agencies, businesses, and countries were able to successfully modernize a national tax system, it’s really an impressive feat," Harrison said. "We’re proud that our software, services, and staff played such an important role in the success of the Valmis program."

About Fast Enterprises

Fast Enterprises (FAST) is a leading provider of software and professional services that help governments to enhance customer services, reduce costs, improve the efficiency of internal operations, and maximize return on investment. FAST professionals work onsite with government agencies to implement modernized enterprise systems based on the company’s commercial off-the-shelf software products. In production for government agencies around the world, FAST’s software is used to manage hundreds of government programs for tax and revenue, driver licensing and compliance, vehicle titling and registration, unemployment insurance tax and benefits, social services, and more.

For information on careers with FAST, visit FAST’s website at www.FastEnterprises.com or email FASTCareers@FastEnterprises.com.

For additional information or to schedule a call with a company representative, contact Kayla Luckenbach by phone at (877) 275-3278 or email BusinessTeam@FastEnterprises.com.

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Pulse Secure (acquired by Ivanti) Lauded by Frost & Sullivan for Leading the Secure Remote Access Market with Its Pulse Access Suite

The deep network visibility and Zero Trust secure access offered by Pulse Secure’s (acquired by Ivanti) solutions have established the company as a valuable security partner in the era of remote working

SINGAPORE, Dec. 18, 2020 — Based on its recent analysis of the Asia-Pacific secure remote access market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Pulse Secure® (acquired by Ivanti) with the 2020 Asia-Pacific Secure Remote Access Company of the Year Award. Pulse Secure (acquired by Ivanti) demonstrated an impressive year-on-year growth of 29.2% in 2019, which was much higher than the industry average of 5.8%. This growth was mainly because of the healthy adoption of the company’s Pulse Access Suite and the continual innovation of its flagship network access control solution.

"Pulse Secure (acquired by Ivanti) enriched the VPN features that enable the Pulse Connect Secure solution to deliver smooth and blended access to public cloud services and data center applications. With the integration of its SSL VPN feature into the next-generation firewall, Pulse Secure (acquired by Ivanti) became one of the few vendors to offer a dedicated secure remote access solution," said Amy Lin, Industry Analyst - ICT Practice, Cyber Security & Digital Transformation.
"Pulse Secure (acquired by Ivanti) enriched the VPN features that enable the Pulse Connect Secure solution to deliver smooth and blended access to public cloud services and data center applications. With the integration of its SSL VPN feature into the next-generation firewall, Pulse Secure (acquired by Ivanti) became one of the few vendors to offer a dedicated secure remote access solution," said Amy Lin, Industry Analyst – ICT Practice, Cyber Security & Digital Transformation.

With distributed workforces becoming the norm, employees have been demanding greater mobility and flexibility in terms of remote access to applications. An increasing number of enterprises have embraced the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend, creating additional challenges for IT teams in terms of monitoring and managing access to enterprise networks and applications. Pulse Secure (acquired by Ivanti) addresses these concerns by offering granular access control through its Pulse Connect Secure solution. This tool was designed to help users identify the person accessing the network and present greater visibility into the type, location, and time of information retrieval.

"Pulse Secure (acquired by Ivanti) enriched the VPN features that enable the Pulse Connect Secure solution to deliver smooth and blended access to public cloud services and data center applications. With the integration of its SSL VPN feature into the next-generation firewall, Pulse Secure (acquired by Ivanti) became one of the few vendors to offer a dedicated secure remote access solution," said Amy Lin, Industry Analyst – ICT Practice, Cyber Security & Digital Transformation. "Furthermore, its continued efforts to fortify relationships with channel partners across the region resulted in clear growth momentum in emerging markets, including China, Southeast Asian countries, and India."

As a vendor positioned to provide easy and comprehensive, software-defined, and secure remote access solutions for people, devices, things, and services, Pulse Secure (acquired by Ivanti) helps ensure customer productivity remains optimal. The vendor provides hardware (Pulse PSA Series) and virtual appliance options (PSA-V Series) for customers, in addition to cost-effective SSL VPN solutions. The Pulse Connect Secure solution secures access from data center applications to the cloud; therefore, users can have the same experience from different environments and on different devices. The solution’s user-friendly clientless access enables customers to access enterprise networks from any web browser, without requiring software installation or device maintenance.

"Pulse Secure (aquired by Ivanti) has a strong business presence in Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, and Singapore and more than 20 million users, including numerous Fortune 500 organizations. It has established a strong foothold in the service providers; banking, financial services, and insurance; and government sectors," noted Lin. "Its winning combination of organic and inorganic growth strategies has positioned it ideally for continued growth in the secure remote access market."

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents a Company of the Year award to the organization that demonstrates excellence in terms of growth strategy and implementation in its field. The award recognizes a high degree of innovation with products and technologies and the resulting leadership in terms of customer value and market penetration.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About Frost & Sullivan

For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been 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.

Contact:

Kala Mani.S.
P: +607-560 3656
E: Kala.Manis@frost.com

About Ivanti

The Ivanti intelligent experience platform helps make every IT connection smarter and more secure across remote infrastructure, devices, and people through automation. From PCs and mobile devices to virtual desktop infrastructure and the data center, Ivanti discovers, manages, secures and services IT assets from cloud to edge in the everywhere enterprise — while delivering personalized employee experiences. In the everywhere enterprise, corporate data flows freely across devices and servers, empowering workers to be productive wherever and however they work. Ivanti is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah and has offices all over the world. For more information, visit www.ivanti.com and follow @GoIvanti.

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ValueLabs wins IBSI Global Fintech Innovation Award


HYDERABAD, India, Dec. 18, 2020 — ValueLabs, a global technology services provider, won the IBSI Global Fintech Innovation Award for the Best Original & Adoptable Concept in Compliance & RegTech. It was for the Enterprise Customer Due Diligence solution which they built for Diligent, a Singapore-based global RegTech company.

The IBSI Global FinTech Innovation Awards honors technology players and banks for their excellence in driving impact through banking technology implementations and innovations using emerging technologies. This year, IBSI winners were chosen on the basis of innovation excellence, best practices & tools adopted, originality & simplicity, adaptability of the concept and program complexity & governance.

The Enterprise Customer Diligence solution is a SaaS based application which enables banks and RegTech companies to onboard and maintain ongoing relationships with customers while complying with regulatory and policy requirements. The solution provides a 100% configurable rules engine that performs due diligence for clients across multiple topographies and jurisdictions.

"We are delighted to be recognized by IBSI for driving innovation in the BFS space and we are confident that this solution will help the industry to reimagine the ways in which customer onboarding and due diligence happen. Also wanted to congratulate our partners at Diligent on this award and thank them for allowing us to be a part of their journey," said Arjun Rao, CEO of ValueLabs.

"In this digital era of banking, it is essential for banks and FIs to take necessary measures to comply with ever changing industry regulations and compliance requirements. This solution automates every process of KYC and CDD and enables digital compliance vision for our clients," said Anoop Singh, SVP & Head of Emerging Markets, Valuelabs, who accepted the award. "We are also planning to significantly expand our global presence in BFS in 2021 and this recognition inspires us to deliver more innovative solutions for the BFS & RegTech industry."

About ValueLabs

ValueLabs is a global technology company focused on Product Development, Data Technology and Digital services. Powered by The Digital Flywheel™, ValueLabs provides end-to-end solutions in the fields of Customer Experience, Data & Analytics, Product Development, and Automation. Over the last 23 years, the company has expanded to 32 locations, 5500 associates and 150 clients worldwide. Their focus on employees and clients have resulted in industry-leading client Net Promoter Scores (NPS) of over 60 and 80 respectively.

Media Contact:
Anoop Singh Sengar
anoop.singh@valuelabs.com  
www.valuelabs.com/business-form/

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ResellerClub Re-Establishes its Presence in Indonesia with Improved Localized Experience

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Dec. 18, 2020 — ResellerClub, an Endurance International Group company and a provider of web hosting, domains and other web presence products, has revamped its website experience in the Indonesia market. While the brand has been in this market for many years, they bring a fresh, improved web experience. The brand has achieved this through localized websites, local payment gateways, translated control panels, revamped messaging, reduced page load times, localized support, promo and coupon systems for competitive offers and more. With a remarkable impact over 14 years in India, the United States, and other countries, ResellerClub hopes to do the same in Indonesia.

"Indonesia is an entrepreneurial society and an increasing number of small & micro businesses are getting rapidly digitized during this time. We want to support this thriving ecosystem by extending our world-class infrastructure and support through an advanced experience to web professionals (developers, IT agencies) and small businesses. We now offer a simple, easy to buy option for hosting solutions in a fully localized website with highly qualified chat support," says Manish Dalal, Managing Director – APAC, Endurance International Group.

ResellerClub offers a complete suite of server and cloud-based products in local language and currency to help businesses find the right hosting solution suited to different needs. Specific product highlights include:

Locally Relevant Payment Modes- While credit cards are one of the primary modes of online payment in a lot of developed countries, there is a dominance of alternate payment options in the APAC region. ResellerClub is now offering payment methods such as local bank transfers, wallets and convenience store top-ups to customers in Indonesia to make the purchase more convenient.

Advanced Hosting Infrastructure –  ResellerClub boasts of an extensive product portfolio with hosting solutions ranging across Shared Hosting , Reseller Hosting, Virtual Private Servers and  Dedicated Servers.  The brand has been progressively investing and improving its hosting range with the newly introduced SSD variants for Cloud, Virtual Private Servers (VPS), Dedicated Servers and  Reseller Hosting. ResellerClub has also recently launched additional storage on it’s VPS product and is working on adding ‘Managed Services’ to it’s offering in early 2021. ResellerClub’s hosting comes with free WHMCS, free SSL and free migration amongst many other robust features.

Productivity Solutions – The brand also offers multiple email and security solutions including G Suite for which it was recently awarded the ‘Expansion Partner Award APAC’ by Google.

Developer Friendly Order Management Panel – ResellerClub is also set to offer the ‘All-New WebPro Panel’ to it’s clients in Indonesia. This new Control Panel is specially built for web professionals (web designers, developers, digital marketing agencies, etc) after years of product research and conversations with multiple clients. The panel provides an easy purchase flow, along with tools for invoicing, taxation, order & client management and a fully white-labelled, easily brandable Storefront.

About ResellerClub

ResellerClub was founded with the objective of offering domain names and hosting products to web designers, developers and web hosts. Today, ResellerClub offers products and services that a web professional can use to enable small businesses to build a meaningful web presence. ResellerClub offers Reseller Hosting, Shared Hosting, Cloud Hosting, Dedicated Servers, VPS, email, backup, security and more with multi-brand options in many of these categories to empower choice. ResellerClub also offers a comprehensive solution to register and manage 350+ gTLDs, ccTLDs and new domains. Through the platform customized for web professionals, ResellerClub envisions provisioning the widest variety of web presence products, PaaS and SaaS-based tools.

About Endurance International Group

Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. helps millions of small businesses worldwide with products and technology to enhance their online web presence, email marketing, business solutions, and more. The Endurance family of brands includes Constant Contact, Bluehost, HostGator, and Domain.com, among others. Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, Endurance employs over 3,800 people across the United States, Brazil, India and the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.endurance.com.

Decoding the route to SHAREit’s global success

From file transfer to content discovery, sharing and gaming, a look into all the features that made SHAREit a global phenomenon

SINGAPORE, Dec. 18, 2020 — SHAREit, a file sharing application that has now transformed to become one of the world’s leading offline and online app, recognized as a game & video discovery and file sharing platform. It was recently ranked as the fastest growing media publisher globally according to the Edition XI of the AppsFlyer Performance Index[1]. This accomplishment came after SHAREit was included among the top ten applications globally by the State of Mobile in 2020 report by AppAnnie[2]. These successes are a testament to SHAREit’s unique product offering and a wide array of features that not only make the application popular amongst customers, but also an indispensable resource for marketers.

SHAREit
SHAREit

SHAREit’s primary feature is the peer to peer file transfer. SHAREit allows users to share pictures, music, and more, with other devices without using an active internet or Bluetooth connection. With file transfer speeds that reach up to 20mb/s, SHAREit’s efficacy in the space is unmatched. Additionally, SHAREit also ensures secure application transfers with Google Play’s Peer-to-Peer Offline App Sharing. The feature lets users share apps via SHAREit while Google Play will determine shared app’s authenticity even when the device is offline. It will then add the shared apps to the user’s Play Library and also manage app updates when the device comes back online.

Commenting on SHAREit’s journey, Karam Malhotra, Partner & Global VP, SHAREit said, "We at SHAREit regard technology and localization as the most important factor for our success. In the past few years, we have worked towards strengthening our team globally making strides in various industries while strengthening our core peer to peer app transfer feature by associating with Google Play. We are on a journey to ensure digital entertainment of all types could be equally accessible by everyone, by becoming the one-stop service platform allowing users to browse, download, and transfer content and play games with ease."

Besides file sharing, SHAREit has also made strides as a gaming and content discovery, consumption and sharing platform. SHAREit has a separate gaming center on the application which offers HTML5 games, gaming videos and an option to download hot games. It is one of the largest catalogues of mobile games, from developers across the globe. With consistent advances in terms of content, SHAREit has successfully leveraged the popularity of local regional content to establish itself as the hub for short format videos and has hence seen its user base grow worldwide. SHAREit now boasts a user base of over 1.8 billion users globally speaking 45 languages in about 200 countries and regions. The application currently has more than 500 million monthly active users globally.

About SHAREit:

SHAREit is an online and offline platform that provides a variety of entertainment options, including online streaming videos, file transfer, and gaming. According to AppAnnie, SHAREit app was the 6th most downloaded app in 2019 across the Apple iOS App Store and Google Play Store. There are more than 1.8 billion users worldwide, SHAREit’s Monthly Active Users (MAU) has exceeded 500 million and operating in 45 different languages. 

 

Crypto.com Chain Prepares for Mainnet Launch with Final Dry Run


Mainnet stress test event, Crossfire, includes USD 300,000 validator incentives

HONG KONG, Dec. 18, 2020 — Crypto.com today announced Crossfire, the Crypto.com Mainnet dry run, aimed at stress testing the network in a practical, real-world setting before public release. Crossfire marks an important milestone and final step in preparation for mainnet. Participating Validators have the opportunity to compete with each other while completing tasks. Winning Validators will share a prize pool of USD 300,000 in CRO rewards.

In the last year, the Crypto.com Chain has received massive support from its community and industry partners. Croeseid, the latest testnet, features a new codebase based on the Cosmos SDK and has achieved great success with 50+ validators deployed and over 800,000 transactions processed.

Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com, said: "With the Mainnet production dry run, we are entering the final stretch on the road to go-live. The Crossfire competition for validators with $300,000 in rewards is a critical part of stress testing the network before the much anticipated launch."

The Cosmos SDK, upon which the Crypto.com Chain is built, promotes scalability, usability and coin interoperability. Cosmos’ inter-blockchain communication (IBC) module allows cross-chain asset transfers and communications that provide strong support for DeFi use cases, a core element of Crypto.com’s product roadmap. Crypto.com Chain mainnet continues to adopt Tendermint Core as its consensus engine, one of the most mature Byzantine-fault tolerant (BFT) consensus engines for building proof-of-stake systems, and its codebase is released on Github here written in the Go programming language.

Crossfire Validator Competition

Those interested in becoming a validator can begin registering at 13:00 UTC, 17 December 2020, with the competition period running from 04:00 UTC, 18 January 2021 through 03:59 UTC, 15 February 2021.

Crossfire Validator Tasks: (Note: No minimum CRO staking requirement)

  • Entry tasks – Setting up validator nodes and keeping them online
  • Complete tasks for additional rewards:
      ○ Submitting transactions to the network for a chance to win the jackpot
      ○ Proposal voting participation
      ○ Perform node client update
      ○ Observe and report valid network attacks via Crypto.com Chain GitHub
      ○ Compete with other validators to become one of the top 10 Most Valuable Participants (MVPs)

Crossfire Validator Rewards:

Compete with other validators to become one of the top 10 Most Valuable Participants. Each eligible participant may receive CRO rewards upon completion of tasks:

  • Entry tasks – Up to USD 1,000 each (200 winners)
  • Network upgrade – Up to USD 150 each (200 winners)
  • Jackpot – Up to USD 10,000
  • MVP Prize – USD 13,000 shared among the top 10 validators
  • Network attack sharing, bug and bounty program – Up to USD 50,000 shared by contributors
  • Referrals – We encourage participants to refer their friends to join the Crossfire dry run as well. Eligible referrers and referees will receive a reward of 50 USD worth of CRO each. Read more about the referral program here.
  • Additional details on the prize pool and rewards breakdown can be found here.

Sign up to become a validator here. For more information on setting up a validator or a full node on Crypto.com Chain, click here.

About Crypto.com

Crypto.com was founded in 2016 on a simple belief: it’s a basic human right for everyone to control their money, data and identity. Crypto.com serves over 5 million customers today, providing them with a powerful alternative to traditional financial services through the Crypto.com App, the Crypto.com Visa Card, the Crypto.com Exchange and Crypto.com DeFi Wallet.

Crypto.com is built on a solid foundation of security, privacy and compliance and is the first cryptocurrency company in the world to have ISO/IEC 27701:2019, CCSS Level 3, ISO27001:2013 and PCI:DSS 3.2.1, Level 1 compliance, and independently assessed at Tier 4, the highest level for both NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Frameworks. Crypto.com is headquartered in Hong Kong with a 700+ strong team. Find out more by visiting https://crypto.com.  

Logo – https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/crypto-com-chain-prepares-for-mainnet-launch-with-final-dry-run.jpg

 

 

 

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

– Fourth Quarter 2020 Net Revenue was $65.5 Million, Exceeding Guidance –
Fourth Quarter 2020 Gross Profit was $36.7 Million, with Gross Margin of 56.0% –
Fourth Quarter 2020 Operating Income was $12.9 Million, with Operating Margin of 19.7% –
Fourth Quarter 2020 Net Income Attributable to CDEL was $4.9 Million, with Net Income Margin of 7.4% –

BEIJING, Dec. 17, 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 fourth quarter and fiscal year 2020 ended September 30, 2020.

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2020 Financial and Operational Highlights

  • Net revenue decreased by 4.6% to $65.5 million from $68.7 million in the prior year period.
  • Total course enrollments were 931,500, a decrease of 17.7% from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.
  • Cash receipts from online course registration were $38.2 million, a 12.8% decrease from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.
  • Gross profit decreased by 15.4% to $36.7 million from $43.4 million in the prior year period.
  • Non-GAAP[1] gross profit decreased by 15.3% to $36.8 million from $43.4 million in the prior year period.
  • Gross margin was 56.0%, compared with 63.2% in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] gross margin was 56.1%, compared with 63.2% in the prior year period.
  • Operating income decreased by 32.9% to $12.9 million from $19.2 million in the prior year period.
  • Non-GAAP[1] operating income decreased by 36.0% to $13.6 million from $21.2 million in the prior year period.
  • Net income attributable to CDEL was $4.9 million, compared with net income attributable to CDEL of $13.8 million in the prior year period.
  • Non-GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL was $6.2 million, compared with non-GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL of $18.6 million in the prior year period.
  • Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS") attributable to CDEL were $0.144 and $0.143, respectively, compared with both basic and diluted net income per ADS attributable to CDEL of $0.411, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.
  • Basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS attributable to CDEL were $0.185 and $0.184, respectively, compared with basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS attributable to CDEL of $0.558 and $0.554, respectively, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.
  • Cash outflow from operations was $1.7 million, compared with cash inflow from operations of $20.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.

Fiscal Year 2020 Financial and Operational Highlights

  • Net revenue decreased by 1.1% to $209.6 million from $211.8 million in fiscal year 2019.
  • Total course enrollments were 4,255,000, an increase of 12.2% from fiscal year 2019.
  • Cash receipts from online course registration were $179.0 million, a 15.4% decrease from fiscal year 2019.
  • Gross profit increased by 0.8% to $108.0 million from $107.1 million in fiscal year 2019.
  • Non-GAAP[1] gross profit increased by 0.9% to $108.1 million from $107.1 million in fiscal year 2019.
  • Gross margin was 51.5%, compared with 50.6% in fiscal year 2019. Non-GAAP[1] gross margin was 51.6%, compared with 50.6% in fiscal year 2019.
  • Operating income decreased by 17.8% to $18.8 million from $22.8 million in fiscal year 2019.
  • Non-GAAP[1] operating income decreased by 18.8% to $21.4 million from $26.4 million in fiscal year 2019.
  • Net income attributable to CDEL decreased by 50.9% to $10.4 million from $21.3 million in fiscal year 2019.
  • Non-GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL decreased by 50.3% to $13.7 million from $27.6 million in fiscal year 2019.
  • Both basic and diluted net income per ADS attributable to CDEL were $0.309, compared with both basic and diluted net income per ADS attributable to CDEL of $0.635 for fiscal year 2019.
  • Basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS attributable to CDEL were $0.410 and $0.406, respectively, compared with basic and diluted non-GAAP[1] net income per ADS attributable to CDEL of $0.830 and $0.823, respectively, for the fiscal year 2019.
  • Cash flow from operations decreased by 51.1% to $40.0 million from $81.8 million in the fiscal year 2019.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL, said, "We concluded fiscal 2020 with fourth-quarter revenue of $65.5 million, exceeding the upper end of our guidance range. This quarter’s revenue outperformance was primarily driven by a less-severe than previously expected impact from the pandemic-related postponement or suspension of certain professional certification examinations. The appreciation of the Renminbi against U.S. dollar also contributed to the fourth quarter revenue performance. However, our cash receipts from online course registration have declined year-over-year for the past three consecutive quarters due to the COVID-19 pandemic."

"We believe in the long-term growth prospects of China’s online education industry and are well prepared to serve a growing student demographic. We remain dedicated to consistently delivering knowledge to an even broader student constituency and extending convenience, flexibility and engagement to their learning experiences. Meanwhile, we will continue to integrate cutting-edge technologies into our educational solutions, and diversify our course offerings to fulfill the needs of students at different stages of their study and career development. With our 20-year track record and an unwavering commitment to education, we have proven to be the premier partner of choice for students in their journey of lifelong learning," Mr. Zhu concluded.

Mr. Mark Marostica, Co-Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, added, "Despite our efforts to control costs amid revenue weakness stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, our fourth quarter non-GAAP operating profit declined year-over-year. With fiscal 2021 well underway, we remain committed to our balanced growth strategy, and deeply focused on improving both revenue growth and profitability."

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2020 Financial Results

Net Revenue. Total net revenue decreased by 4.6% to $65.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 from $68.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Net revenue from online education services, books and reference materials, and other sources contributed 78.4%, 9.6% and 12.0%, respectively, of total net revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020.

Online education services. Net revenue from online education services increased by 3.9% to $51.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 from $49.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, mainly due to the revenue growth from the accounting vertical.

Books and reference materials. Net revenue from books and reference materials increased by 9.9% to $6.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 from $5.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, primarily attributable to the publication of certain Legal Professional Qualification Examination books in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, which were previously expected to be published in the third quarter of fiscal 2020.

Others. Net revenue from other sources decreased by 41.9% to $7.8 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 from $13.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, primarily due to the significant decrease in revenue from the sale of college-related learning simulation software, and the significant decrease in the provision of offline training courses due to COVID-19.

Cost of Sales. Cost of sales increased by 14.0% to $28.8 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, from $25.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Non-GAAP[1] cost of sales increased by 13.8% to $28.8 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, from $25.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. The increase in cost of sales was mainly due to the increase in cost of books and reference materials, and salaries. This increase was partially offset by the decrease in rental and related expenses, and lecture fees.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin. Gross profit was $36.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, a decrease of 15.4% from $43.4 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] gross profit was $36.8 million, decreasing by 15.3% from $43.4 million in the prior year period. Gross margin was 56.0% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with 63.2% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Non-GAAP[1] gross margin was 56.1% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with 63.2% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.

Operating Expenses. Total operating expenses increased by 5.3% to $26.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, from $24.7 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] total operating expenses increased by 11.8% to $25.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, from $22.7 million in the prior year period.

Selling expenses. Selling expenses increased by 8.9% to $17.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 from $16.1 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] selling expenses increased by 8.8% to $17.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, from $16.1 million in the prior year period. The increase was primarily driven by higher advertising and promotional expenses, and the increase in commission to agents. This increase was partially offset by the decrease in rental and related expenses.

General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by 19.8% to $8.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 from $7.1 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] general and administrative expenses increased by 19.2% to $7.8 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, from $6.6 million in the prior year period. The increase was mainly due to the professional fees associated with the Company’s going private transaction. This increase was partially offset by the significant decrease in provision for doubtful debts, compared with the prior year period. In the prior year period, significant provision for doubtful debts was made mainly associated with the Company’s investee company, Hangzhou Wanting Technology Co., Ltd., and the sale of learning simulation software.

Impairment loss from long-term investments. Impairment loss from long-term investments in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 was $0.9 million, compared with $6.9 million in the prior year period, due to impairment of the value of the investee company, Beijing Xinrui Education Technology Co., Ltd.

Income Tax Expenses. Income tax expense decreased by 30.5% to $4.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 from $6.0 million in the prior year period, primarily due to the decrease in taxable income in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020.

Net Income Attributable to CDEL. As a result of the foregoing, net income attributable to CDEL was $4.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with net income attributable to CDEL of $13.8 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL was $6.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with non-GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL of $18.6 million in the prior year period.

Operating Cash Flow. Net operating cash outflow was $1.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with net operating cash inflow of $20.0 million in the prior year period. The operating cash outflow was mainly attributable to the decrease in deferred revenue, and partially due to the decrease in cash receipts from online course registration, lease liability, and the decrease/increase in amount due to/from related parties. The operating cash outflow was partially offset by net income before non-cash items generated in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, the decrease in inventories, and the increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities, and income tax payable.

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 September 30, 2020 increased by 0.9% to $134.9 million from $133.7 million as of June 30, 2020, mainly due to the appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar. The increase was partially offset by (i) the operating cash flow used in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, (ii) the capital expenditure of $1.9 million, (iii) the repayment of an onshore loan of $3.3 million, and (iv) the dividend distribution by an affiliated entity to its noncontrolling interests’ shareholders of $1.7 million.

Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Results

Net Revenue. Total net revenue decreased by 1.1% to $209.6 million in fiscal year 2020 from $211.8 million in fiscal year 2019. Net revenue from online education services, books and reference materials, and other sources contributed 76.0%, 10.6% and 13.4%, respectively, of total net revenues for fiscal year 2020.

Online education services. Net revenue from online education services increased by 9.2% to $159.3 million in fiscal year 2020 from $145.9 million in fiscal year 2019.

Books and reference materials. Net revenue from books and reference materials decreased by 19.4% to $22.1 million in fiscal year 2020 from $27.4 million in fiscal year 2019.

Others. Net revenue from other sources decreased by 26.9% to $28.2 million in fiscal year 2020 from $38.5 million in fiscal year 2019.

Cost of Sales. Cost of sales decreased by 3.0% to $101.6 million in fiscal year 2020 from $104.7 million in fiscal year 2019. Non-GAAP[1] cost of sales decreased by 3.1% to $101.5 million in fiscal year 2020, from $104.7 million in fiscal year 2019.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin. Gross profit was $108.0 million in fiscal year 2020, up 0.8% from $107.1 million in fiscal year 2019. Non-GAAP[1] gross profit was $108.1 million, increasing by 0.9% from $107.1 million in fiscal year 2019. Gross margin was 51.5% in fiscal year 2020, compared with 50.6% in fiscal year 2019. Non-GAAP[1] gross margin was 51.6% in fiscal year 2020, compared with 50.6% in fiscal year 2019.

Operating Expenses. Total operating expenses increased by 8.5% to $95.3 million in fiscal year 2020, from $87.9 million in fiscal year 2019. Non-GAAP[1] total operating expenses increased by 10.0% to $92.8 million in fiscal year 2020, from $84.4 million in fiscal year 2019.

Selling expenses. Selling expenses increased by 13.6% to $69.8 million in fiscal year 2020 from $61.5 million in fiscal year 2019. Non-GAAP[1] selling expenses increased by 13.6% to $69.8 million in fiscal year 2020, from $61.5 million in fiscal year 2019.

General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by 2.2% to $25.5 million in fiscal year 2020 from $24.9 million in fiscal year 2019. Non-GAAP[1] general and administrative expenses increased by 0.5% to $23.1 million in fiscal year 2020, from $22.9 million in fiscal year 2019.

Impairment loss from long-term investments. Impairment loss from long-term investments in fiscal 2020 was $0.9 million, compared with $6.9 million in fiscal year 2019, due to impairment of the value of the investee company, Beijing Xinrui Education Technology Co., Ltd.

Income Tax Expenses. Income tax expense was $5.5 million in fiscal year 2020, compared with income tax expense of $8.1 million in fiscal year 2019.

Net Income Attributable to CDEL. As a result of the foregoing, net income attributable to CDEL was $10.4 million in fiscal year 2020, compared with net income attributable to CDEL of $21.3 million in fiscal year 2019. Non-GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL was $13.7 million in fiscal year 2020, compared with non-GAAP[1] net income attributable to CDEL of $27.6 million in fiscal year 2019.

Operating Cash Flow. Net operating cash inflow decreased by 51.1% to $40.0 million in fiscal year 2020 from $81.8 million in fiscal year 2019.

China Distance Education Holdings Limited Enters into Definitive Merger Agreement for Going Private Transaction

On December 1, 2020, the Company announced that it had entered into a definitive Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") with Champion Distance Education Investments Limited ("Parent") and China Distance Learning Investments Limited ("Merger Sub"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Parent, pursuant to which, subject to the terms and conditions thereof, Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving entity and becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (the "Merger"), in a transaction in which the Company will be acquired by a group of certain of the Company’s existing shareholders (including 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) and certain other existing shareholders of the Company and equity investors. Upon the effectiveness of the Merger, all outstanding ordinary shares of the Company (each, an "Ordinary Share"), including Ordinary Shares represented by American depositary shares, each representing four Ordinary Shares ("ADSs"), other than Excluded Shares (as defined in the Merger Agreement) and ADSs representing Excluded Shares, will be cancelled in exchange for the right of the holders thereof to receive $2.45 in cash per Ordinary Share, or $9.80 in cash per ADS.

The Company cautions its shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that there remain risks and uncertainties with respect to the Merger, including the possibility that the Merger will not occur as planned if events arise that result in the termination of the Merger Agreement, or if one or more of the various closing conditions to the Merger are not satisfied or waived or if requisite shareholder approval is not obtained, and other risks and uncertainties regarding the Merger Agreement and the Merger.

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

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, quotations from management in this announcement, the Company’s strategic and operational plans (in particular, the impact of COVID-19 on our businesses including the postponement or suspension of certain professional certification examinations; 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) as well as the risks and uncertainties of the Merger, 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 COVID-19, together with the postponement or suspension of certain professional certification examinations; the results and impact of the Merger; 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.

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, impairment loss from long-term investments net of noncontrolling interests and taxes calculated using specific tax treatments applicable to the adjustments based on their respective jurisdictions, and impairment of goodwill. 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, impairment loss from long-term investments net of noncontrolling interests and taxes calculated using specific tax treatments applicable to the adjustments based on their respective jurisdictions, and impairment of goodwill 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. 
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

 

 

(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

September 30, 2020

(Derived from Audited)

(Unaudited)

Assets:

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

67,977

80,056

Term deposits

13,440

Restricted cash

38,358

4,212

Short term investments

22,118

20,343

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of US$1,864 and
US$1,282 as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively

7,330

6,154

Inventories

4,232

4,863

Prepayment and other current assets

26,732

31,316

Amounts due from related parties

515

3,580

Deferred costs

1,427

1,657

Total current assets

168,689

165,621

Non-current assets:

Restricted cash

16,849

Property, plant and equipment, net

37,935

42,331

Operating lease right of use asset

30,029

Goodwill, net

74,829

78,966

Long term investments

25,379

26,324

Other intangible assets, net

30,113

23,161

Deposit for purchase of non-current assets

4,448

2,186

Deferred tax assets

3,865

5,690

Other non-current assets

10,092

7,490

Total non-current assets

186,661

233,026

Total assets

355,350

398,647

Liabilities and equity:

Current liabilities:

Bank borrowings

38,502

4,012

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$49,232 and US$35,491 as of September 30, 2020 and 2019,
respectively)

38,267

55,454

Amount due to related parties

600

1,309

Income tax payable (including income tax payable of the consolidated VIE without
recourse to China Distance Education Holdings Limited of US$14,451 and
US$8,188 as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively)

10,899

17,378

Deferred revenue – current portion (including deferred revenue of the consolidated
VIE without recourse to China Distance Education Holdings Limited of US$104,929
and US$93,364 as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively)

94,202

105,953

Refundable fees – current portion (including refundable fees of the consolidated VIE
without recourse to China Distance Education Holdings Limited of US$1,729 and
US$435 as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively)

435

1,729

Operating lease liability – current portion (including operating lease liability of the
consolidated VIE without recourse to China Distance Education Holdings Limited
of US$3,835 and nil as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively)

4,160

Total current liabilities

182,905

189,995

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$33,928 and US$33,564 as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively)

33,564

33,928

Refundable fees – non-current portion (including refundable fees of the consolidated
VIE without recourse to China Distance Education Holdings Limited of US$2,602
and US$2,440 as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively)

2,440

2,602

Deferred tax liabilities

12,695

6,088

Long-term bank borrowing

16,000

Operating lease liability – non-current portion (including operating lease liability of
the consolidated VIE without recourse to China Distance Education Holdings
Limited of US$22,749 and nil as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively)

23,089

Total non-current liabilities

48,699

81,707

Total liabilities

231,604

271,702

 

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 September 30, 2020
and 2019, respectively)

13

14

Additional paid-in capital

24,507

27,318

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(12,357)

(833)

Retained Earnings

60,668

51,477

Total China Distance Education Holdings Limited shareholder’s equity

72,831

77,976

Noncontrolling interests

50,915

48,969

Total equity

123,746

126,945

Total liabilities and equity

355,350

398,647

 

 

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 September 30,

2019

2020

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

Online education services

49,467

51,399

Books and reference materials

5,740

6,310

Others

13,484

7,837

–  Sale of learning simulation software

3,366

2,225

–  Business start-up training services

483

331

–  Others

9,635

5,281

Total net revenues

68,691

65,546

Cost of sales

Cost of services and others

(22,791)

(24,080)

Cost of tangible goods sold

(2,492)

(4,740)

Total cost of sales

(25,283)

(28,820)

Gross profit

43,408

36,726

Operating expenses

Selling expenses

(16,133)

(17,574)

General and administrative expenses

(7,064)

(8,462)

Impairment of goodwill

(1,517)

Total operating expenses

(24,714)

(26,036)

Other operating income

535

2,222

Operating income 

19,229

12,912

Impairment loss from long-term investments

(6,920)

(910)

Interest income

493

603

Interest expense

(525)

(120)

Exchange gain (loss)

3,399

(4,107)

Income before income taxes

15,676

8,378

Income tax expense

(6,044)

(4,201)

(Loss) gain from equity method investments

(465)

292

Net income

9,167

4,469

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

(4,602)

(396)

Net income attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited

13,769

4,865

 

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

Net income attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited 
shareholders

Basic

0.103

0.036

Diluted

0.103

0.036

 

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

Net income attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited 
shareholders

Basic

0.411

0.144

Diluted

0.411

0.143

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

Basic

133,399,392

134,510,192

Diluted

134,333,486

135,537,758

 

 

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)

Year Ended September 30,

2019

2020

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

Online education services

145,917

159,338

Books and reference materials

27,372

22,061

Others

38,533

28,159

–  Sale of learning simulation software

12,996

9,520

–  Business start-up training services

2,741

2,158

–  Others

22,796

16,481

Total net revenues

211,822

209,558

Cost of sales

Cost of services and others

(85,252)

(81,976)

Cost of tangible goods sold

(19,489)

(19,622)

Total cost of sales

(104,741)

(101,598)

Gross profit

107,081

107,960

Operating expenses

Selling expenses

(61,460)

(69,848)

General and administrative expenses

(24,919)

(25,478)

Impairment of goodwill

(1,517)

Total operating expenses

(87,896)

(95,326)

Change in fair value in connection with business combination

695

Other operating income

2,968

6,155

Operating income 

22,848

18,789

Impairment loss from long-term investments

(6,920)

(910)

Interest income

2,207

2,555

Interest expense

(2,819)

(1,021)

Gain from disposal of an investment

318

Gain from deconsolidation of a subsidiary

6,869

Exchange gain (loss)

3,296

(5,261)

Income before income taxes

25,799

14,152

Income tax expense

(8,121)

(5,460)

Loss from equity method investments

(1,484)

(555)

Net income

16,194

8,137

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

(5,060)

(2,293)

Net income attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited

21,254

10,430

 

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

Net income attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited 
shareholders

Basic

0.159

0.077

Diluted

0.159

0.077

 

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

Net income attributable to China Distance Education Holdings Limited 
shareholders

Basic

0.635

0.309

Diluted

0.635

0.309

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

Basic

133,060,900

133,984,929

Diluted

134,138,117

135,232,224

 

 

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 September 30,

2019

2020

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

Cost of sales

25,283

28,820

Share-based compensation expense in cost of sales

45

Non-GAAP cost of sales

25,283

28,775

Selling expenses

16,133

17,574

Share-based compensation expense in selling expenses

18

Non-GAAP selling expenses

16,133

17,556

General and administrative expenses

7,064

8,462

Share-based compensation expense in general and administrative expenses

490

626

Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses

6,574

7,836

Gross profit

43,408

36,726

Share-based compensation expenses

45

Non-GAAP gross profit

43,408

36,771

Gross profit margin

63.2%

56.0%

Non-GAAP gross profit margin

63.2%

56.1%

Operating income

19,229

12,912

Share-based compensation expenses

490

689

Impairment of goodwill

1,517

Non-GAAP operating income

21,236

13,601

Operating margin

28.0%

19.7%

Non-GAAP operating margin

30.9%

20.8%

Net income attributable to CDEL

13,769

4,865

Share-based compensation expenses

490

689

Impairment loss from long-term investments, net of tax effect of US$228 and nil
     for the year ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively

6,920

682

Impairment of goodwill

1,517

Noncontrolling interests impact on adjustments

(4,094)

Non-GAAP net income attributable to CDEL

18,602

6,237

Net income margin attributable to CDEL

20.0%

7.4%

Non-GAAP net income margin attributable to CDEL

27.1%

9.5%

Net income per share attributable to CDEL—basic

0.103

0.036

Net income per share attributable to CDEL—diluted

0.103

0.036

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

0.139

0.046

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

0.138

0.046

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

0.411

0.144

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

0.411

0.143

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

0.558

0.185

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

0.554

0.184

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

133,399,392

134,510,192

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

134,333,486

135,537,758

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

133,399,392

134,510,192

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

134,333,486

135,537,758

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)

Year Ended September 30,

2019

2020

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

Cost of sales

104,741

101,598

Share-based compensation expense in cost of sales

23

139

Non-GAAP cost of sales

104,718

101,459

Selling expenses

61,460

69,848

Share-based compensation expense in selling expenses

10

58

Non-GAAP selling expenses

61,450

69,790

General and administrative expenses

24,919

25,478

Share-based compensation expense in general and administrative expenses

1,972

2,421

Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses

22,947

23,057

Gross profit

107,081

107,960

Share-based compensation expenses

23

139

Non-GAAP gross profit

107,104

108,099

Gross profit margin

50.6%

51.5%

Non-GAAP gross profit margin

50.6%

51.6%

Operating income

22,848

18,789

Share-based compensation expenses

2,005

2,618

Impairment of goodwill

1,517

Non-GAAP operating income

26,370

21,407

Operating margin

10.8%

9.0%

Non-GAAP operating margin

12.4%

10.2%

Net income attributable to CDEL

21,254

10,430

Share-based compensation expenses

2,005

2,618

Impairment loss from long-term investments, net of tax effect of US$228 and
     nil for the year ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively

6,920

682

Impairment of goodwill

1,517

Noncontrolling interests impact on adjustments

(4,094)

Non-GAAP net income attributable to CDEL

27,602

13,730

Net income margin attributable to CDEL

10.0%

5.0%

Non-GAAP net income margin attributable to CDEL

13.0%

6.6%

Net income per share attributable to CDEL—basic

0.159

0.077

Net income per share attributable to CDEL—diluted

0.159

0.077

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

0.207

0.102

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

0.206

0.102

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

0.635

0.309

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

0.635

0.309

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

0.830

0.410

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

0.823

0.406

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

133,060,900

133,984,929

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

134,138,117

135,232,224

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

133,060,900

133,984,929

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

134,138,117

135,232,224

Note 1: Each ADS represents four ordinary shares

 

 

Hotspot Partners with Parallel Wireless to Deliver on Nigeria’s Connectivity Vision


The Open RAN Solution and NaaS Model to Deliver Broadband Services Across Nigeria

NASHUA, N.H., Dec. 16, 2020 — Parallel Wireless, Inc., the leading U.S.-based Open RAN company delivering the world’s first software-defined end-to-end 5G 4G 3G 2G Open RAN solutions, today announced that they have been selected by Hotspot Network Limited, a Network as a Service (NaaS) provider, as a part of Digital Farmers Club (DFC), Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) and NITDA Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) connectivity initiatives to deliver 2G, 3G and 4G coverage across planned 2,000 villages in Nigeria.

GSMA states that in Sub-Saharan Africa, a quarter of the population still lives outside of mobile broadband coverage, compared to 7%  globally. Mobile internet is the sole method of digital access for many individuals and businesses in Nigeria. The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed the importance of the mobile internet to support access to education, work, healthcare, services and social networks.

The federal government of Nigeria is committed to facilitating the achievement of its national policy goals for Universal Service and Access to information and communication technologies in Nigeria. This deployment is aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals SDG Goals 1, 2, 6, 7 and 13. It also aligns with African Development Banks High 5’s – Light up & Power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa and improve the quality of life for people of Africa.

The strategic goal of Parallel Wireless and Hotspot’s partnership is to help regional mobile operators build and expand wireless networks across Nigeria, providing next-generation digital services to local communities. This will meet DFC’s, USPFS’ and NAVSA’s objective to provide voice and data services to enable eHealth, eHospitality, eEducation, ebanking, eAgriculture and, as a result, improve the citizens’ standard of living and bring them into the digital economy. This will help DFC to create over 100,000 direct jobs and 1,500,000 indirect jobs across Nigeria.

The project partners deliver the following capabilities:

  • Parallel Wireless: High-performance, distributed architecture to build a world-class, cloud-native, 5G-ready Open RAN network. This will also deliver improved service innovation and reduced operational costs across geographically distributed sites, with the introduction of RAN automation.
  • Hotspot: Experience in deploying and managing traditional RAN as a system integrator and NaaS provider, including managed services.
  • Deployment ecosystem: Off-grid solar power system.
  • Partner banks: Funding of mobile phone acquisition scheme for women and farmers within the region.
  • DFC: A platform for empowering women and youth who run agro-businesses in rural communities, providing them with knowledge and skills in modern agricultural techniques and running a micro/small business successfully.

To learn more about Open RAN, please download this eBook: https://www.parallelwireless.com/resources/everything-you-need-to-know-about-open-ran/ 

Supporting quotes

Engr. Morenikeji Aniye, Founder and CEO, HotSpot Network Limited, said, "Hotspot has signed a commercial agreement with MTN to deploy more than 2,000 sites starting with 500 in year one. We believe that Parallel Wireless’s innovative and easy to deploy 2G 3G 4G 5G world’s leading Open RAN will enable faster time to market to deliver wireless internet to consumers and businesses."

Christoph Fitih, Africa Sales Director, Parallel Wireless, said, "We are proud to be a part of various such initiatives for implementing our world’s leading Open RAN platform to allow mobile operators to enable new and innovative services quickly and cost-effectively, in turn making a positive impact in the lives of the global population."

About Parallel Wireless
Parallel Wireless is the first U.S.-based company challenging the world’s legacy vendors with the industry’s first unified ALL G (5G/4G/3G/2G) software-enabled Open RAN macro solution. Its cloud-native network software reimagines network economics for global mobile operators in both coverage and capacity deployments, while also paving the way to 5G. The company is engaged with 50+ leading operators worldwide. Parallel Wireless’s innovation and excellence in multi-technology, open virtualized RAN solutions have been recognized with 75+ industry awards. For more information, visit: www.parallelwireless.com. Connect with Parallel Wireless on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Hotspot Network Limited
Founded in 2008, Hotspot Network Limited (HNL) Hotspot Network Limited provides Tower collocation and infrastructure sharing service to Mobile operators, we also provide Nigerian mobile operators with a network-as-a-service(NaaS)solution aimed at overcoming the challenges of expanding mobile connectivity in rural areas of Nigeria.

https://www.hotspotnetworkltd.com/  

Logo –  https://mma.prnasia.com/media2/1004727/PW_FullColor_CMYK_Logo.jpg?p=medium600  

Related Links :

https://www.parallelwireless.com

TUKAweb and 62 TUKAcenters Now Offers 3D Services

Create 3D Garments now with zero Investment in systems or personnel

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16, 2020Tukatech announces that their TUKAcenter and web services portal, TUKAweb, will now offer 3D services for creating instant 3D garments to be produced on demand.  To celebrate the launch of the new 3D service, TUKAweb is giving customers their first 3D job for free.

TUKAweb currently offers 62 physical locations (TUKAcenters) around the globe as well as their TUKAweb.com web services portal which both offer many services such as pattern making, grading, marker making, custom 3D assets, plotting and more.

"With the growing popularity and increased demand of 3D for visualization, virtual fitting and sampling, apparel businesses around the globe are including this solution as part of their 2021 plans.  However, many have been affected by declines in revenue due to the pandemic and those that are looking to buy a 3D solution are not investing due to costs," says Chris Walia, Chief Operating Officer at Tukatech.    

The new 3D services allow customers to not have to dig deep into their pockets in order to produce 3D assets.  "This is a great alternative for those that are dipping their feet into the 3D technology, may not have the staff, or are strapped with cash and do not want to invest immediately," says Marta Miller, Owner of Lefty Production Company. She continues, "Why not use the TUKAweb resources available to do the work and allow my team to focus on their core competencies?"

"Since the opening of our TUKAcenter, we have had a lot of requests to create 3D garments and do virtual sampling.  These are wonderful collaborations as our team has the 3D system and the know-how, and the customers come up with exciting new concepts.  We have the expertise, and no investment is required from the customer." says Jagdish Chawla, Founder of Design Wolf Studio and Bengaluru TUKAcenter

About TUKAweb – TUKAweb is a hub of tools and services ideal for fashion entrepreneurs and students.  For more information about TUKAweb 3D sample making service as well as other services offered, visit www.tukaweb.com or email support@tukaweb.com

About Tukatech – Tukatech was founded in 1995 with the objective to have pattern makers create patterns digitally on the computer. On their silver anniversary, Tukatech is an influential fashion technology company known worldwide for innovative solutions and superior technical support. They are the industry’s leading provider of fashion software and machinery for product development, cloud collaboration, and garment manufacturing.

For more information visit: https://tukatech.com/

CONTACT: (323) 726-3836

Related Links :

Tukatech | Fashion Design Technology Software

Tive Secures $12 Million Series A Capital Funding

Backed by RRE Ventures and Two Sigma Ventures, Tive offers real-time, in-transit location and condition insights to every part of the supply chain

BOSTON, Dec. 16, 2020 — Tive, Inc., a leading provider of global supply chain visibility insights, announced today that it secured a $12 million Series A funding round from RRE Ventures, followed by Two Sigma Ventures, with participation from existing investors NextView Ventures, Hyperplane Ventures, One Way Ventures, Fathom Ventures, and others. The new investment will fuel Tive’s rapid growth and drive product innovation for seamless shipment tracking, alerts and analytics.

Shipment tracking is incredibly complicated, unreliable and expensive. Tive is changing that by providing real-time visibility into the entire shipment process, including hyper-accurate location data and condition insights such as temperature, shock, light exposure and humidity. Tive’s release of the industry’s first 5G-ready single-use tracker was met with intense market interest and approval.  Customer adoption is on the rise with aggressive growth in new customers and 570% growth in annual revenue, driven in part by the delivery of the first Non-Lithium powered tracker to address the market’s concerns over Lithium-Ion safety and environmental impact.

"The $20 trillion shipping industry is starting to expect more," said Raju Rishi, General Partner at RRE Ventures. "They are rapidly adopting Tive to gain real-time insights on their shipments, giving them a level of visibility not yet seen before in the industry as well as a new window of opportunity to actually intervene if shipments are being improperly handled. Over the four years we’ve known Krenar, we’ve seen Tive’s full-stack tracking solution be aggressively pulled into the market by a diverse customer base and we’re proud to be backing him and his team as they build a category-defining company in supply chain tracking."

"Given the growing demand for Tive’s full line of tracking solutions, it was obvious that now was the time to dramatically expand our ability to meet industry demand," said Krenar Komoni, CEO at Tive, Inc. "Gaining the support of RRE Ventures and Two Sigma Ventures, as well as our current valued investors, means we can leverage their expertise and focus on growing our customer-centric platform. The infusion of growth capital means bringing products to market faster, enhancing our sales and marketing efforts, adding key leadership, and growing our international presence."

About Tive
Tive delivers real-time in-transit visibility of shipments around the globe with data-driven insights from an enterprise-class Visibility as a Service (VaaS) platform. With Tive, shippers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) can track and monitor the location and condition of their products while in transit. Tive’s VaaS solution provides data generated by its industry-leading trackers allowing clients to proactively optimize their shipments, improve their customers’ experience, and unlock supply chain insights in an actionable real-time manner. Tive is based in Boston, MA. For more information, visit: www.tive.co

Contact: James Waters, jim@tive.co

Related Links :

http://www.tive.io