closeATA Announces Results for Third Quarter and Nine Months Fiscal Year 2009
Nine Months 2009 Highlights
-- Net revenue was RMB187.9million (US$27.5 million), up 31.4% from
RMB142.9 million in the comparable period of 2008.
-- Gross profit increased by 25.9% to RMB112.2 million (US$16.4 million),
from RMB89.1 in the comparable period of 2008.
-- Income from operations increased by 30.3% to RMB39.4 million (US$5.8
million), up from RMB30.2 million in the comparable period in 2008.
-- Net income increased by 34.0% to RMB34.7 million (US$5.1 million) from
RMB25.9 in the comparable period of 2008.
-- Net income excluding share based compensation expenses and foreign
currency exchange gain (losses) (non-GAAP) increased 21.2% to RMB38.6
million (US$5.7 million) from RMB31.9 million in the comparable period
of 2008.
-- Basic and diluted earnings per common share were RMB0.76 (US$0.11) and
RMB0.74 (US$0.11) for the nine months ended December 31, 2008 compared
to RMB1.18 (US$0.16) and RMB0.73 (US$0.10) for the nine months ended
December 31, 2007. Basic and diluted earnings per ADS were RMB1.52
(US$0.22) and RMB1.48 (US$0.22) for the nine months ended December 31,
2008 compared to RMB2.36 (US$0.32) and RMB1.45 (US$0.20) for the nine
months ended December 31, 2007. Each ADS represents two common shares
of the Company.
-- Basic and diluted earnings per common share excluding share based
compensation expenses and foreign currency exchange gain (losses)
(non-GAAP) were RMB0.85 (US$0.12) and RMB0.82 (US$0.12) and basic and
diluted earnings per ADS excluding share based compensation expenses
and foreign currency exchange gain (losses) (non-GAAP) were RMB1.70
(US$0.25) and RMB1.65 (US$0.24). Each ADS represents two common shares
of the Company.
-- For the nine months ended December 31, 2008, ATA delivered
approximately 4.4 million tests which increased 44.5% from
approximately 3.0 million tests in the same period last year. Average
revenue per test increased to RMB27.2 from RMB22.0 in the same period
last year.
Third Quarter 2009 Highlights
-- Net revenues increased by 1.7% year-over-year to approximately RMB67.8
million (US$9.9 million).
-- Gross profit decreased by 15.4% year-over-year to approximately RMB38.6
million (US$5.7 million).
-- Income from operations decreased by 40.0% year-over-year to
approximately RMB12.9 million (US$1.9 million).
-- Net income decreased by 20.0% year-over-year to approximately RMB13.9
million (US$2.0 million).
-- Net income excluding share-based compensation expenses and foreign
currency exchange losses (non-GAAP) decreased by 31.2% year-over-year
to approximately RMB15.2 million (US$2.2 million).
-- Basic and diluted earnings per common share were RMB0.30 (US$0.04) and
RMB0.30 (US$0.04), respectively, and basic and diluted earnings per ADS
were RMB0.61 (US$0.09) and RMB0.60 (US$0.09), respectively. Basic and
diluted earnings per common share excluding share-based compensation
expenses and foreign currency exchange losses (non-GAAP) were RMB0.33
(US$0.05) and RMB0.33 (US$0.05), respectively, and basic and diluted
earnings per ADS excluding share-based compensation expenses and
foreign currency exchange losses (non-GAAP) were RMB0.67 (US$0.10) and
RMB0.66 (US$0.10), respectively. Each ADS represents two common shares
of the Company.
-- For the quarter, ATA delivered approximately 1.5 million tests which
increased 51.0% from approximately 970,000 tests in the same period
last year. Revenue per test decreased to RMB35.0 from RMB38.4 in the
same period last year.
"During the quarter, our core testing service business grew a solid 38% on
a net revenue basis, and on track to deliver robust growth for the full year,"
said
ATA's Chief Financial Officer,
Financial Results for the Third Quarter 2009
For the Third Quarter 2009, net revenues were
The overall number of tests the Company delivered increased by 51.0% year-
over-year to approximately 1.5 million in the Third Quarter 2009 compared to
the same period last year mainly due to the increase in the number of China
Banking Association tests to approximately 413,000 test takers in this quarter
compared to approximately 221,000 in the same period last year. In addition,
we successfully launched a new Broker Professional Qualification test title
for the Securities Association which contributed approximately 99,000 new test
takers during the quarter and we expect will become a strong test taker
contributor going forward. Average revenue per test decreased slightly from
Gross profit decreased by 15.4% to approximately
Operating expenses increased by 6.5% year-over-year to
Income from operations for the Third Quarter 2009 decreased by 40.0% to
approximately
Net income for the Third Quarter 2009 decreased by 20.0% to approximately
Net income excluding share-based compensation expenses and foreign
currency exchange losses (non-GAAP) was
Nine Months Fiscal Year 2009 Results
For the nine months ended
Other Operating Data
As of
The number of weighted average ADSs used to calculate basic and diluted
earnings per ADS for the quarter ended
Fourth Quarter 2009 and Full-Year Fiscal 2009 Guidance
For the fiscal fourth quarter 2009, ATA forecasts net revenues will be in
the range of
Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call at
If you are unable to participate in the call at this time, a replay will
be available on
This conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed by all interested parties on ATA Inc.'s website at http://www.ata.net.cn . To listen to the live webcast, please go to ATA Inc.'s website at least fifteen minutes prior to the start of the call to register, download, and install any necessary audio software. For those unable to participate during the live broadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the call on ATA Inc.'s website for 90 days.
Other Announcements:
ATA Testing was re-certified in
About ATA Inc.:
ATA is the leading provider of computer-based testing services in
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can
be identified by terminology such as "look forward to," "outlook," "forecast,"
"will," "expect," "anticipate," "future," "intend," "plan," "believe,"
"estimate" and similar terminology and include, among other things, the
Company's guidance relating to anticipated financial and operating results for
the fiscal quarter ending
The forward-looking statements in this release involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the markets in which it operates. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements, which speak only of the Company's views as of the date of this release, to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot assure you that its expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.
About Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement ATA's consolidated financial information presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), ATA uses the following measures defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: net income excluding share-based compensation expenses and foreign currency exchange gain (losses) and basic and diluted earnings per ADS excluding share-based compensation expenses and foreign currency exchange gain (losses). 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 "Unaudited Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to the Most Comparable GAAP Measures" set forth at the end of this release. ATA believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity by excluding share-based compensation expenses and foreign currency exchange gain (losses), which may not be indicative of its operating performance from a cash perspective. ATA 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 ATA's historical performance and liquidity. ATA computes its non-GAAP financial measures using a consistent method from quarter to quarter. ATA 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 non-GAAP net income excluding share-based compensation expenses and basic and diluted earnings per share and per ADS excluding share-based compensation expenses is that share-based compensation charges have been and are expected to continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant recurring expenses in ATA's business. Management compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from each non-GAAP measure. The accompanying table captioned "Unaudited Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to the Most Comparable GAAP Measures" set forth at the end this release has more details on the reconciliations between GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to the non-GAAP financial measures used by ATA.
Currency Convenience Translation
The Company's financial information is stated in RMB. The translation of
RMB amounts for the Third Quarter 2009 into
ATA INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
March 31, December 31, December 31,
2008 2008 2008
RMB RMB USD
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash 332,196,672 340,018,595 49,837,830
Accounts receivable, net 63,502,408 71,246,371 10,442,854
Inventories 2,951,966 2,059,291 301,838
Prepaid expenses and other current
assets 4,657,608 6,970,290 1,021,663
Total current assets 403,308,654 420,294,547 61,604,185
Property and equipment, net 10,668,300 20,590,610 3,018,045
Goodwill 6,880,123 6,880,123 1,008,446
Other assets 15,776,667 18,244,094 2,674,107
Total assets 436,633,744 466,009,374 68,304,783
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accrued expenses and other
payables 29,822,313 42,062,090 6,165,202
Deferred revenues 36,707,916 23,946,119 3,509,875
Total current liabilities 66,530,229 66,008,209 9,675,077
Deferred revenues 7,025,971 6,299,200 923,298
Total liabilities 73,556,200 72,307,409 10,598,375
Shareholders' equity:
Common shares: 3,656,210 3,503,619 513,539
Treasury shares (16,106,940) (7,509,483) (1,100,694)
Receivable from shareholders -- (5,226,173) (766,020)
Additional paid-in capital 498,374,024 499,356,450 73,192,591
Accumulated other comprehensive
loss (7,933,512) (16,200,060) (2,374,505)
Accumulated deficit (114,912,238) (80,222,388) (11,758,503)
Total shareholders' equity 363,077,544 393,701,965 57,706,408
Total liabilities and
shareholders' equity 436,633,744 466,009,374 68,304,783
ATA INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Three-month Period Ended
December September December December
31, 2007 30, 2008 31, 2008 31, 2008
RMB RMB RMB USD
Net revenues 66,679,479 51,696,431 67,840,049 9,943,576
Testing services 37,246,748 14,175,165 51,230,721 7,509,083
Test-based educational
services 12,129,552 10,937,400 12,126,220 1,777,387
Test preparation and
training solutions 14,833,274 21,215,476 2,443,226 358,113
Other revenue 2,469,905 5,368,390 2,039,882 298,993
Cost of revenues 21,006,379 17,321,775 29,191,272 4,278,677
Gross profit 45,673,100 34,374,656 38,648,777 5,664,899
Operating expenses:
Research and development 4,323,493 4,778,038 3,958,021 580,142
Sales and marketing 8,361,547 6,908,588 7,813,891 1,145,312
General and administrative 11,503,629 13,911,591 13,979,559 2,049,038
Total operating expenses 24,188,669 25,598,217 25,751,471 3,774,492
Income from operations 21,484,431 8,776,439 12,897,306 1,890,407
Subsidy income -- 2,000,000 -- --
Interest income 136,084 61,664 92,626 13,577
Foreign currency exchange
gain (losses), net (428,868) 135,115 (75,332) (11,042)
Earnings before income
taxes 21,191,647 10,973,218 12,914,600 1,892,942
Income tax benefit
(expense) (3,830,160) (2,628,085) 982,410 143,996
Net income 17,361,487 8,345,133 13,897,010 2,036,938
Basic earnings per common
share 0.79 0.18 0.30 0.04
Diluted earnings per common
share 0.48 0.18 0.30 0.04
Basic earnings per ADS 1.59 0.36 0.61 0.09
Diluted earnings per ADS 0.95 0.36 0.60 0.09
UNAUDITED RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP MEASURES TO THE MOST COMPARABLE
GAAP MEASURES
Three-month Period Ended
December 31, December 31,
2007 2008
RMB RMB
GAAP net income 17,361,487 13,897,010
Share-based compensation expenses 4,307,792 1,235,687
Foreign currency exchange losses 428,868 75,332
Non-GAAP net income 22,098,147 15,208,029
GAAP earnings per ADS:
Basic 1.59 0.61
Diluted 0.95 0.60
Share-based compensation expenses per ADS:
Basic 0.39 0.05
Diluted 0.24 0.05
Foreign currency exchange (gain) losses
per ADS:
Basic 0.04 0.01
Diluted 0.02 0.01
Non-GAAP earnings per ADS:
Basic 2.02 0.67
Diluted 1.21 0.66
Non-GAAP earnings per common share:
Basic 1.01 0.33
Diluted 0.61 0.33
For further information, please contact:
ATA Inc.
Carl Yeung, CFO
Tel: +86-10-6518-1122 ext. 5107
Email: ir@ata.net.cn
Website: http://www.ata.net.cn
CCG Elite Investor Relations
Crocker Coulson, President
Tel: +1-646-213-1915
Ed Job, CFA
Tel: +1-646-213-1914
Email: ed.job@ccgir.com
Website: http://www.ccgirasia.com
SOURCE ATA Inc.
Released February 12, 2009