Tag: Education

Edvantage Group (0382.HK) Announces its Business Update for The Three Months Ended 30 November 2019

Edvantage Group Holdings Limited (“Edvantage Group” or the “Group”, stock code: 0382.HK) announces an update on certain latest unaudited financial and operational information, and business development of the Group for the three months ended 30 November 2019 (the “Period under Review”).

Business Update Highlights (for the three months ended 30 November 2019)
– The revenue of the Group amounted to approximately RMB210.9 million, representing a YOY increase of approximately 19.4%;
The gross profit of the Group amounted to approximately RMB104.3 million, representing a YOY increase of approximately 21.3%;
The gross profit margin increased by 0.8 percentage point to 49.5% as compared to the corresponding period of last year;
– The total number of student enrolments was 35,227, representing a YOY increase of 7.7%;
– The average tuition fees for student enrolments of Huashang College and Huashang Vocational College for the Period under Review were RMB24,671 and RMB15,617, representing a YOY increase of 13.3% and 3.5% respectively

During the Period under Review, the revenue of Edvantage Group amounted to approximately RMB210.9 million, representing a YOY increase of approximately 19.4%. The gross profit of the Group increased by 21.3% to approximately RMB104.3 million and the gross profit margin increased by 0.8 percentage point to 49.5% as compared to the corresponding period of last year. During the Period under Review, the total number of student enrolments of the Group was 35,227, representing a YOY increase of 7.7%. The total number of student enrolments of Huashang College Guangdong University of Finance & Economics (“Huashang College”) was 24,116, representing a YOY increase of 6.3%, and the total number of student enrolments of Guangzhou Huashang Vocational College (“Huashang Vocational College”) was 10,661, representing a YOY increase of 11.3%. Apart from an increase in student enrolments, the average tuition fees for student enrolments of the Group also recorded significant increase. The average tuition fees for student enrolments of Huashang College and Huashang Vocational College for the Period under Review were RMB24,671 and RMB15,617, representing a YOY increase of 13.3% and 3.5% respectively.

BUSINESS UPDATE

Core Business Update

Rooted in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, benefited from the favourable national policies, the Group adhere to the market demand by proactively adding majors and disciplines

As the largest private education group in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, Edvantage Group proactively grasp the national policy trends and provide the quality education resources for talents with the ambition to develop a career in the Greater Bay Area. During the Period under Review, Huashang College continued to see the business programmes as strategic focus(e.g. accounting, finance, economics and business English), and adhere to the market demands at the same time by adding 7 more majors including health services and management, data science and big data technology, business management, animation, public utility management, marketing (international class), tourism management (international class). The top 5 majors of Huashang College in terms of student enrolments of 2019/20 school year remains to be accounting, English, international economics and trade, financial engineering and Chinese literature. In addition, accounting and journalism of Huashang College were selected to be the distinguished college disciplines cultivation pilot of 2019 in Guangdong province. During the Period under Review, Huashang Vocational College’s majors increased to 34, with the new majors of big data technology and application, traditional chinese pharmacology, drug operation and management, TCM health care, early childhood education, pharmacy and math media art design.

The Group proactively enrich education resources, expand overseas and domestic school network, continuously consolidate its sizable students base

The new Sihui campus: To further expand the Group’s domestic campus network, Huashang College is constructing an approximately 533,300 sq. m new campus in Sihui of Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, which will accommodate approximately 16,000 students. The Sihui campus is expected to commence operation in September 2020 with the enrolment of 3,000 students for the initial school year. It is expected that the total number of student enrolments will increase by 3,000 in each subsequent year.

The existing Zengcheng campus: The Group is building a Science & Technology Centre and an International Conference Centre at Zengcheng campus in Huashang College to improve the overall infrastructure of campuses in China and enhance the overall education quality, as well as to boost up the Group’s industry reputation. At present, Science & Technology Centre and International Conference Centre at Zengcheng campus are under construction as scheduled.

The new Singapore campus: Being the pioneer of overseas expansion, the Group continues to accelerate the global school network expansion besides the existing Global Business College of Australia (“GBCA”). During the Period under Review, the Group has acquired NYU Language School, which has been accredited as EduTrust by the Education Department of Singapore. NYU Language School provides long-term and short-term language training courses as well as preparatory courses for the admission of different schools in Singapore for local and overseas students. Moreover, the Group has established the Singapore campus based in the existing NYU Language School. Expected to commence operation in April 2020, the Singapore campus is situated in city centre with favourable geographical location and excellent accessibility. It is also in the vicinity of various universities, including the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, which are accessible within a short period of time. In addition to the language preparatory courses, the new campus also provides undergraduate and college courses and start-up/training courses. It is qualified to offer internationally-recognised courses and accept local and overseas students in Singapore. The breakthrough of acquiring NYU Language School the Group made will allow the students of Huashang College and Huashang Vocational College from China to attend the new Singapore campus sooner. In addition, it will also optimize the education service quality of the Group and increase the learning resources available to the students.

Strategic positioning in the Greater Bay Area, enrich diversified education service and upgrade branding influence

New teaching venue in Shenzhen: As an education brand rooted in the Greater Bay Area, Edvantage Group proactively cultivate education resources in Shenzhen, a Greater Bay Area city known as a “Special Economic Zone” of China, an international metropolitan, the “Silicon Valley” in China and the Demonstration Pilot Zone. During the Period under Review, the Group set up a new teaching venue in Shenzhen for launching advanced courses on AI, big data, financial technology, etc. The new teaching venue is located in The Mixc Commercial Zone, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, and is expected to commence operation in April 2020. Edvantage Group accommodate the market’s thirst for high-end technology talents, and leverage on Shenzhen’s unique urban positioning in China, as well as its gigantic attraction for talents to actively enrich diversified education services and enhance the brand influence of Edvantage Group simultaneously.

Programme addition and improvement

Addition of College of Healthcare: To train healthcare professionals, establish a healthcare professional group covering healthcare services and management, the Group has established College of Healthcare in Huashang College and Huashang Vocational College. Its curriculum focuses on “cooperation with hospitals and corporates” and “school-enterprise cooperation.” The programs offered by College of Healthcare include healthcare services and management, Chinese herbs, cosmetics science and technology and health enhancement with traditional Chinese pharmacy. Approximately 150 students have been initially enrolled at the colleges of health for the 2019/20 school year. The Group has also set up a modern and synthetic Chinese herbarium, which combines education, scientific research and popular science.

The establishment of Southwest University of Political Science & Law Huashang College: The Group actively expand and improve the programs simultaneously. Huashang College and Southwest University of Political Science & Law has signed a cooperation agreement on 31 December 2019 in relation to the joint establishment of the Southwest University of Political Science & Law Huashang College to award double bachelor’s degree (Business+law) to enhance the level of recognition and the competitiveness of its graduates. The college plans to introduce the joint programmes in the year of 2020/21. It is expected that the tuition fees of joint programmes will be significantly higher than that of single subject programmes.

Vocational Education Training Business Update

Benefited from the provisional government policy on “1+X” certificate system, the business of vocational education training of the Group further grew, expected to become the new revenue growth factor

The business of vocational education training of the Group further grew under the provisional government policy on quality classification of vocational skills, i.e. “1 + X” certificate system, introduced for vocational colleges and technical training colleges. At present, relatively abundant certified vocational training courses have been introduced in Zengcheng campus, including CFA, junior accountant, computer science, teacher qualification certificate, CET 4, CET 6 and IELTS. Additionally, Zengcheng campus will see further development of the school of continuing education. It is expected that the contribution of revenue from continuing education in the school year of 2020/21 and beyond will be more significant. In addition to the operation of vocational education training, the Group will make use of its overseas teaching resources to introduce advanced vocational training for local and overseas students in its Shenzhen teaching centre in cooperation with Southwest University of Political Science & Law Huashang College. Looking forward, it is expected that the vocational training of the Group will have high growth and gross profit margin and will become a new revenue growth factor for the Group.

OUTLOOK

In recent years, benefited from the support of favourable national policies to the Greater Bay Area and its education industry, Edvanatge Group seized this golden opportunity and became the largest private higher education group in the area. The business progress in the first three months of financial year 2020 indicates that the average tuition fee of the Group’s students in the future will have the potential to increase. In addition to the planned expansion of the Sihui and Zengcheng campuses and the overseas school network, the Group is confident about its future business development. At the same time, the Group will put enormous efforts to develop vocational education training, which is currently credited to other revenue, and bring more value for the shareholders. In the future, Edvantage Group will make full use of its existing advantages, firmly grasp the opportunities arising from the development of the Greater Bay Area and continue to propel the development of the Group with internationalization and informatization.

About Edvantage Group Holdings Limited

Edvantage Group Holdings Limited (“Edvantage Group” or the “Group”, stock code: 0382.HK) is the largest private higher education group in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (in terms of total student enrolment of business majors for the 2017/2018 school year), and an early mover in education sector in pursuing international expansion. With a sizeable student base, the Company operates with economies of scale. In China, the Edvantage Group currently operates two private higher education institutions located in the Great Bay Area of Guangdong Province, China, namely Huashang College and Huashang Vocational College. Huashang College and Huashang Vocational College focus their programme offerings on business programmes, such as accounting, finance, economics and business English, and strive to help students to achieve employment prospects when they graduate, and to benefit from the availability of employment opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. The Company also operates a private vocational education institution named Global Business College of Australia (“GBCA”) authorized by ASQA in Australia, offering vocational education courses and non-formal short-term courses aiming to provide students with competitive advantages and global prospective.

The Group has also acquired NYU Language School, a local school in Singapore and has established the Singapore campus based in the existing NYU Language School. NYU Language School has been accredited as EduTrust by the Education Department of Singapore. The Singapore campus is expected to commence operation in April 2020. In addition to the language preparatory courses, the new campus also provides undergraduate and college courses and start-up/training courses. It is qualified to offer internationally-recognised courses and accept local and overseas students in Singapore.

Edvantage Group Announced Historic High in Huashang College’s 2019 Student Enrollment

Enrolled 8,178 Students, Up Substantially by Approximately 36% YOY

Edvantage Group Holdings Limited (Stock code: 382.HK), the largest private higher education group in the Greater Bay Area in terms of total student enrolment of business majors for the 2017/2018 school year and an early mover in pursuing international expansion, is pleased to announce today that, Huashang College Guangdong University of Finance and Economics (“Huashang College”), a private higher education institution the Company operates in Guangdong Province, China, has finished its enrollment and admission works for all kinds of students for 2019 in an orderly and efficient manner. A few days ago, the last batch of admission letters have been sent to students.

Huashang College is an independent college that Edvantage Group operates in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, providing formal undergraduate education. The College is organised into 3 schools and 11 departments, offering 31 bachelor’s degree programmes and over 780 courses. With a mission to “cultivate professional talents for the Greater Bay Area”, the College strategically focuses its programme offerings to cater to market demand fuelled by the growing service sector. As of 28 February 2019, Huashang College had a total full-time student enrolment of 22,639.

2019 Enrollments recorded a historic high, with the College’s admission scores exceeding provincial standard significantly

For this year, Huashagn College enrolls students from 15 provinces and regions, with the number of students outside Guangdong reaching 400, recording the highest for years. In sight of the number of students, the College newly enrolled a total of 8,178 students*, increasing by approximately 36% from 6,021 students for last year. Among all, the enrollments through the National Higher Education Entrance Exam recorded 6,348 students, 5,948 of which are from Guangdong province (up by approximately 3% from 5,761 students last year) and 400 are from other provinces (up by approximately 54% from 260 students last year). The enrollments through the National Entrance Examination for Chinese Students from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Overseas and the enrollments for Taiwan students exempt from admission exam recorded 14 in total, representing an increase of approximately 100% comparing with the 7 students for last year. Moreover, the College has been ranking the first among the universities in Guangdong for several consecutive years, in terms of enrollments for liberal-and-art majored student through the National Higher Education Entrance Exam in Guangdong province.

In sight of admission standards, Huashang College’s admission scores in Guangdong province is higher than the last year, representing a better quality of students. Among others, the College’s admission score for liberal-and-art majored, science majored and fine-arts majored students in Guangdong are 486, 418 and 459 respectively, representing 31, 28 and 39 points higher than the provincial admission line for university respectively. In other provinces, the College also enjoys a high popularity among students. With its admission scores significantly higher than the provincial admission lines in the provinces and regions, Huashang College is able to improve the quality of its students substantially. For example, the College’s admission scores for science majored, liberal-and-art majored, and fine-arts majored students have exceeded the provincial admission lines by 76 points, 56 points and 66 points respectively.

As of 28 February 2019, the College’s top five majors in terms of student enrolment were accounting, English, international economics and trade, financial engineering and Chinese literature. Among all, its accounting major was recognized as one of the “featured key disciplines” and the journalism major was recognized as one of the “key development disciplines” by the Education Department of Guangdong Province. During the enrollment, the College’s featured key disciplines, key development disciplines and other featured disciplines such as Finance and Economics, Commerce, Languages and Arts enjoyed high popularity among students in all provinces. 

Besides, Huashang College is widely recognized for its international education system, which provides a variety of study abroad programmes, ranging from short-term study tour programmes to two-year study abroad mutual credit-recognition programmes, and enabling its students to gain valuable exposure to international communities and markets while developing their professional skills with a global prospective. Such programmes were also deeply loved among the parents and students.

During the enrollment, Mr. Liu Yung Chau, Executive Director and chairman of the Board of Edvantage Group Holdings Limited, said: “It has been over a decade since Huashang College’s establishment, during which we have been pursuing the quality of education and a student-oriented strategy. Focusing on profession-oriented, vocational training and practical skill-based training, we have embraced the enthusiasm and recognition from the market. This year, we are proud to have recorded outstanding performances in terms of enrollment, which is not only a testimony for our education quality, but also a hint for the large growth potential of the private higher educational market in the Greater Bay area. As a leading provider of private higher education in business majors in the Greater Bay, we will spare no efforts in cultivating talents for the society and bringing remarkable returns to our investors.”

About Edvantage Group Holdings Limited
Edvantage Group Holdings Limited (“Edvantage Group” or the “Company”, stock code: 382.HK) is the largest private higher education group in the Greater Bay Area (in terms of total student enrolment of business majors for the 2017/2018 school year), and an early mover in education sector in pursuing international expansion. With a sizeable student base, the Company operates with economies of scale. The Edvantage Group currently operates two private higher education institutions located in Guangdong Province, China, namely Huashang College and Huashang Vocational College. Huashang College and Huashang Vocational College focus their programme offerings on business programmes, such as accounting, finance, economics and business English, and strive to help students to achieve employment prospects when they graduate, and to benefit from the availability of employment opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. The Company also operates a private vocational education institution named Global Business College of Australia (“GBCA”) in Australia, offering vocational education courses and non-formal short-term courses aiming to provide students with competitive advantages and global prospective. GBCA is a registered training organization authorized by ASQA. The Company believes that GBCA represents a replicable example for its future international expansion, and the Company is exploring international opportunities in the United Kingdom and Singapore.