Four Programs Of School Of Management, Fudan University Ranked in 2013 Top-100 Global EMBA Programs By Financial Times

SHANGHAI, Oct. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — On October 21, 2013, Financial Times released the 2013 global EMBA rankings, and four programs of the School of Management, Fudan University were successfully ranked in the top-100 list.

This is the second year that the School has joined the FT’s annual EMBA ranking competition with multiple programs, and has achieved improvement in general. Among them, the BI Norwegian Business School-Fudan University MBA Programme participated in the ranking for the first time and Fudan EMBA program is still ranked to be the best Chinese-language program in the world.

This is also the third biggest news of the School within this month. One week ago, the School established International Advisory Board, which is composed of 27 leaders in economic, political and academic fields. On the same day, the School started to build a new campus in Wujiaochang area, which will cover an area of 100,000 square meters and be put into use in 2016, and the new campus will enable the School to have a world-class environment for teaching and research.

Four top-100 programs

The four programs that are ranked on the toop-100 list are: Washington University-Fudan University EMBA Program (English language), Fudan EMBA Program (Chinese language), The University of Hong Kong-Fudan University IMBA Programme (bilingual), and BI Norwegian Business School-Fudan University MBA Programme (English language). The first three programs were in the rankings last year. This year, it shows that, Washington University-Fudan University EMBA Program is ranked the world’s No.6, marking its top-20 place globally and No.1 on Chinese mainland for 8 consecutive years since 2006. Fudan EMBA Program (Chinese language) was ranked No.38, the second year that it has been the world’s best Chinese-language EMBA program. The University of Hong Kong-Fudan University IMBA Programme was ranked No.51, or the world’s No.6 best part-time MBA program. BI Norwegian Business School-Fudan University MBA Programme was ranked No.54, or the world’s No.7 best part-time MBA program.

The FT global EMBA ranking is an important guideline to evaluate the quality of a higher education institution. The ranking criteria strictly look at such aspects as the quality and career development of students, the academic progress and research capability of the school, internationalized level of the school. The fact that four of its programs are ranked among the world’s top-100 ones shows that, the management education level of the school has continued to be recognized by international ranking authorities. It also shows to the world that management education in China is continuing to make improvement.

Aiming at the world’s first-class programs

Since 2006, Washington University-Fudan University EMBA Program has been ranked on the FT’s top-20 list for 8 years. Since last year, Fudan EMBA Program has been ranked the world’s top-50 and The University of Hong Kong-Fudan University IMBA Programme the world’s top-100 for two times. BI Norwegian Business School-Fudan University MBA Programme has participated in the ranking competition for the first time and claimed a top-100 place. From one program to multiple ones, from English language program to bilingual ones, the School has made progress by enabling more programs to be ranked on the FT list, which also represents its plan to go further on the path of internationalization.

“Our goal is to become one of Asia’s best business schools before 2015, with a certain level of global influence. We want to build a world-class business school within next 15 years,” said Dean Xiongwen LU.

“In recent years, we have participated in the rankings with more and more programs. We plan to encourage all of our programs, as well as all the alumni who graduated from these programs within three years, to participate in the ranking competitions for the world’s highest-level evaluation.” In January 2013, Fudan MBA Program participated in the competition for FT’s global best MBA list, and was ranked top 100 for advanced education concept, leading cooperation model and life-long career services.

“The rankings this year represent the recognition of progress already made by the School, and encourage us to go further on the path of internationalization.”

Looking back, the School became the world’s fastest business school to claim both AACSB and EQUIS accreditations within 2009-2010 period; in 2012, it became the mainland China’s first one to get five-year EQUIS re-accreditation

Xiamen Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Jimei School Village Founded by Tan Kah-Kee

XIAMEN, China, Oct. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — On October 21, a commemoration meeting was grandly held in Xiamen to mark the 100th anniversary of Jimei School Village, an educational complex which was originally founded by Tan Kah-Kee.

Chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese Lin Jun, Chairman of the Fujian Provincial CPPCC Zhang Changping, Standing Committee Member of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and Party Secretary of the CPC Xiamen Municipal Committee Wang Menghui, Vice Governor of Fujian Province Li Hong, many of Tan Kah-Kee’s descendants as well as more than 2,500 alumni from both within China and abroad attended the meeting. Nearly 20 of Tan Kah-Kee’s descendants returned to Xiamen for the first time in their lives to pay respects to their renowned forebear.

“Tan Kah-Kee left a great deal of valuable spiritual wealth to the Chinese nation and to the overseas Chinese community – a spiritual wealth that is a direct result of his impressive actions to revitalize the country through education. Today, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Jimei School Village in recognition of the great contributions made by Tan Kah-Kee and to advocate his tireless dedication to education,” Lin Jun said.

“We hope Jimei School Village can promote talent cultivation and school development through the Tan Kah-Kee spirit and the school’s motto of ‘being genuine and courageous’ in mind, transforming it into a more competitive and influential brand. The Fujian Provincial Government will, as it always has, provide the utmost support to the development of Jimei School Village,” Li Hong added.

Overseas representatives, including Tan Kah-Kee’s eldest grandson Tan Dib Jin, said that the event has received enthusiastic response worldwide in deep recognition of the charitable funding that Tan Kah-Kee provided for the establishment of the schools as well as the love that he felt for his home country and for his hometown, and that they are delighted and excited to see the ever-changing development of their hometown and the growing reputation of Jimei School Village across the globe.

In 1913, Tan Kah-Kee returned to his hometown and founded a dozen schools, which later became known as Jimei School Village, providing not only primary and secondary education but also teacher training and higher level instruction in maritime navigation, aquatic farming, business, agriculture and forestry, as well as Chinese studies.

Combining East and West: Groundbreaking Business School Launches in China for Students from Across the Globe

SUZHOU, China, Oct. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The first university in China to be recognised by the Chinese Ministry of Education with the right to award all degrees as dual UK and Chinese qualifications is celebrating the international launch of its new business school today in Suzhou, near Shanghai.

International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) will also be the first business school in China to boast a Thomson Reuters Financial Lab on site, offering students practice in real-time dealing in equities, bonds and other financial products while providing a powerful tool for research and analytics.

IBSS is part of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, an autonomous higher education institution set up in 2006 by Liverpool University in the UK and Xi’an Jiaotong University in China. Its launch coincides with 280 million RMB (GBP 28.6 million) of investment to construct two new buildings for IBSS on the university’s South Campus.

All IBSS programmes are taught in English and offer a Western approach based on a non-didactic teaching style and independent thinking. At the same time, IBSS offers students a high degree of engagement and interaction with Chinese business, as reflected in its motto: “Combining East and West: Creating a Better World”. Through its on-campus language centre, students are encouraged to build skills in Mandarin or other non-native languages.

At IBSS’s international launch event on 25 October 2013, senior executives from leading global companies such as HSBC, Coca Cola, Standard Chartered Bank and BP joined public officials and Chinese business leaders for a day-long event on “Innovation – China’s next challenge”.

Professor Sarah Dixon, Dean of IBSS, says: “China is on the cusp of change, moving from the position of manufacturing hub of the world to one of growing innovation. As such, China is vitally important to the world economy. Our students experience this transition in real time, gaining a UK/Chinese degree from both XJTLU and the University of Liverpool.”

IBSS offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in business and finance, including an International MBA for Managers launching in early 2014. IBSS is based on the strong principles of internationalism, innovation, inspiration and integrity, which together ensure that the business school has a positive impact on society.

China Distance Education Holdings to Present at Upcoming Investor Conferences

BEIJING, October 23, 2013 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — China Distance Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: DL) (“CDEL”, or the “Company”), a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education, is scheduled to present at two conferences in November:

  • Bank of America Merrill Lynch China Conference 2013, to be held November 6-8, 2013 at the JW Marriott Hotel Beijing. Management will meet with institutional investors throughout the event.
  • Citi China Investor Conference 2013, to be held November 13, 2013 at the Grand Hyatt Macau. Management will meet with institutional investors throughout the day.

For additional information, please contact the respective institutional sales representative at each sponsoring bank.

About China Distance Education Holdings Limited

China Distance Education Holdings Limited is a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education. The online courses offered by the Company are designed to help professionals and other course participants obtain and maintain the skills, licenses and certifications necessary to pursue careers in China in the areas of accounting, law, healthcare, construction engineering, and other industries. The Company also offers online test preparation courses to self-taught learners pursuing higher education diplomas or degrees and to secondary school and college students preparing for various academic and entrance exams. In addition, the Company offers online foreign language courses and offline business start-up training courses. For further information please visit http://ir.cdeledu.com.

Contacts:

China Distance Education Holdings Limited

Lingling Kong, IR manager

Tel: +86-10-8231-9999 ext1805

Email: IR

Investor Relations:

Bill Zima

ICR Inc.

Tel: +1 646-328-2550

Award-Winning Leo’s Pad Comes to China, SmarTots Partners With Kidaptive

BEIJING, October 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — SmarTots and Kidaptive, two major players in the kids’ educational game space, are teaming up to bring Leo’s Pad to China. Leo’s Pad is a comprehensive learning game that is backed by the Stanford University Learning Sciences department and a 3D animation department including former Pixar artists. Having already enjoyed much acclaim in English markets, the game is now available in Chinese on the SmarTots platform.

For SmarTots, Leo’s Pad is a perfect fit. “The big distribution channels are very interested in this kind of content,” says Jesper Lodahl, SmarTots CEO. “This is some of the best content we’ve seen in China. Kids from user testing were captivated by the engaging experience, clocking in 12 minutes of session time on average.” As interest in apps targeted at children increases, developers are leveraging more resources and better funding to make truly impressive products. “This is a perfect market fit,” he continues. “International-quality production values and English language learning games like this are the sort of thing we’re proud to bring to China. I’m excited to see market adoption.” Leo’s Pad is an early example of the energy that is being injected into finding unique, modern ways for kids to learn.

As China becomes recognized as the largest education market in the world, the idea of tapping into it via the app space is both lucrative and challenging. With over 100 million kids under age 6 and more iOS and Android users than the United States, China is a market with immense potential, but factors like the fragmented distribution networks, difficulty to localize and fear of intellectual property violation have made entering the Chinese market difficult for developers based in the west who lack a trustworthy China-based partner.

Organizations like SmarTots bridge the gap between successful international content providers like Kidaptive and the receptive Chinese families. For SmarTots, the opportunity to localize and distribute content of this quality makes the Chinese release of Leo’s Pad “a perfect fit,” says Lodahl.

About Leo’s Pad:

As a game, Leo’s Pad is something different. The Hollywood-quality 3D animation was done by artists who have also worked for Pixar, and the voice acting————originally in English and now in Chinese-leverages the talent of seasoned industry pros. Leo’s Pad sets an unprecedented standard for audio-visual quality in the industry.

Not content to just be a pretty face, the game is also backed by the expertise of Dylan Arena, co-founder of Kidaptive and Stanford Learning Sciences Ph.D. His focus has been on applying his understanding of how our brains work to developing more natural, effective learning methods. Leo’s Pad applies the most modern revelations to engage kids and make them think.

How Leo’s Pad does this is by segmenting play time into short adventures, or “appisodes” for kids to play through. In each appisode, kids join a young Leonardo da Vinci (the title character, Leo) on an adventure with friends Gally (Galileo) and Marie Curie.

Although the story is guided by Leo, each appisode is rife with mini-games ranging from logic and shape puzzles to simply painting freely. Each episode focuses on a moral (such as “practice makes perfect” or “it’s great to share”) and the skills learned throughout each appisode give the child the tools needed to help the characters. In this way, the kids are never “drilling” anything, as is often the feeling with more traditional educational games like flash cards or most math games. Leo’s Pad is unique in that learning becomes an intrinsic part of the game’s progress.

About SmarTots:

SmarTots is a leading educational kid game publisher targeting age 2-7.

Focused on fun learning, SmarTots has reached more than 3 million kids in China across it’s 60+ localized international kids titles.

SmarTots sets the bar for quality kids apps in Asia by localizing and republishing the best kids apps from the west and producing brand partnership kids apps with names they already love. SmarTots beat out 100 applicants from around the world to win the GMIC G-Startup award in 2011, and in December 2012 received Series A funding from Softbank’s Pan-Asia fund. SmarTots has already impacted thousands of families, and plans to expand its reach throughout all of Asia in 2013.

About Kidaptive:

Kidaptive is an innovative education and technology company dedicated to smart storytelling on iPads and a curriculum developed in collaboration with top university researchers to create entertaining and adaptive content that helps children learn.

TAL Education Group Announces Unaudited Financial Results for the Second Fiscal Quarter Ended August 31, 2013

BEIJING, October 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — TAL Education Group (NYSE: XRS) (“TAL” or the “Company”), a leading K-12 after-school tutoring services provider in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended August 31, 2013, which is the second quarter of TAL’s fiscal year 2014.

Highlights for the Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2014

  • Net revenues increased by 35.1% year-over-year to US$92.0 million from US$68.1 million in the same period of the prior year.
  • Income from operations increased by 46.6% to US$24.4 million, from US$16.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013.
  • Net income attributable to TAL increased by 45.4% year-over-year to US$23.3 million from US$16.0 million in the same period of the prior year.
  • Non-GAAP net income attributable to TAL, which excluded share-based compensation expenses, increased by 38.7% year-over-year to US$25.1 million from US$18.1 million in the same period of the prior year.
  • Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share (“ADS”) were US$0.30 and US$0.29, respectively. Non-GAAP basic and diluted net income per ADS, excluding share-based compensation expenses, were US$0.32 and US$0.31, respectively. Each ADS represents two Class A common shares.
  • Cash, cash equivalents and term deposits totaled US$294.1 million as of August 31, 2013, compared to US$209.2 million of cash, cash equivalents and term deposits as of February 28, 2013.
  • Total student enrollments increased by 24.8% year-over-year to approximately 308,490.
  • Total physical network consisted of 264 learning centers as of August 31, 2013, from 255 as of May 31, 2013.

Highlights for the First Six Months Ended August 31, 2013

  • Net revenues increased by 30.7% year-over-year to US$153.4 million from US$117.4 million in the same period of the prior year.
  • Income from operations increased by 37.1% to US$31.1 million, from US$22.7 million in the same period of fiscal year 2013.
  • Net income attributable to TAL increased by 49.5% year-over-year to US$31.4 million from US$21.0 million in the same period of the prior year.
  • Non-GAAP net income attributable to TAL, which excluded share-based compensation expenses, increased by 38.7% year-over-year to US$35.1 million from US$25.3 million in the same period of the prior year.
  • Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share (“ADS”) were US$0.40 and US$0.39, respectively. Non-GAAP basic and diluted net income per ADS, excluding share-based compensation expenses, were US$0.45 and US$0.44, respectively.
  • Total student enrollments during the first six months of fiscal year 2014 increased by 21.8% year-over-year to approximately 501,140.
  • Total physical network increased to 264 learning centers as of August 31, 2013 from 255 learning centers as of February 28, 2013.

Financial and Operating Data – Second Quarter and First Six Months of Fiscal Year 2014

(In US$ thousands, except per ADS data, student enrollments and percentages)

Three Months Ended
August 31,
2012 2013 Pct. Change
Net revenues 68,064 91,968 35.1%
Net income attributable to TAL 16,042 23,329 45.4%
Non-GAAP net income attributable to
TAL
18,121 25,138 38.7%
Operating income 16,673 24,440 46.6%
Non-GAAP operating income 18,752 26,249 40.0%
Net income per ADS attributable to
TAL – basic
0.21 0.30 44.4%
Net income per ADS attributable to
TAL – diluted
0.21 0.29 42.3%
Non-GAAP net income per ADS
attributable to TAL – basic
0.23 0.32 37.7%
Non-GAAP net income per ADS
attributable to TAL diluted
0.23 0.31 35.7%
Total student enrollments in small
class, one-on-one, and online courses
247,100 308,490 24.8%
Six Months Ended
August 31,
2012 2013 Pct. Change
Net revenues 117,378 153,367 30.7%
Net income attributable to TAL 20,993 31,387 49.5%
Non-GAAP net income attributable to
TAL
25,301 35,086 38.7%
Operating income 22,689 31,107 37.1%
Non-GAAP operating income 26,997 34,806 28.9%
Net income per ADS attributable to
TAL – basic
0.27 0.40 48.4%
Net income per ADS attributable to
TAL – diluted
0.27 0.39 46.9%
Non-GAAP net income per ADS
attributable to TAL – basic
0.33 0.45 37.7%
Non-GAAP net income per ADS
attributable to TAL – diluted
0.32 0.44 36.2%
Total student enrollments in small
class, one-on-one, and online courses
411,610 501,140 21.8%

“The second quarter was an outstanding quarter for our business. Net revenues increased by 35.1% year-over-year to US$92.0 million, exceeding the top-end of our guidance by US$1.5 million. Revenue growth was supported by a 24.8% increase in enrollments. Our small class business in markets other than Beijing and Shanghai continued to perform well, and accounted for 35% of small class revenues compared to 22% during the same period last year. In addition, our Shanghai operation maintained its solid revenue growth trajectory on the back of continued strong enrollment increases in the summer semester,” said TAL’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Bangxin Zhang.

“Given the improved learning center utilization, we took the opportunity to more aggressively ramp up our tutoring network capacity in the quarter. We added a net of nine learning centers, bringing the total to 264 centers, as compared to 255 at the end of the first fiscal quarter. In terms of classroom capacity, we signed leases for a net 247 additional classrooms in the quarter for our small class business, bringing us to a net 351 additional classrooms for the first half of the year. For the remainder of this fiscal year, we plan to continue to add new learning centers as well as classrooms to existing learning centers, but at a slower pace than in the first half of the year,” Mr. Zhang said.

Mr. Joseph Kauffman, Chief Financial Officer, continued, “In addition to strong top line results, we had better-than-expected net income growth of 45.4% year-on-year in the second quarter. In coming quarters, we expect to incur higher year-on-year growth in operational costs and expenses as we will bear the impact of past quarters’ center and classroom additions as well as invest further in center capacity and the human capital needed to support our current operations and new businesses. In our approach to network expansion, we will continue to be disciplined, employing a combination of scaling up existing facilities and investing in new centers.”

Financial Results for the Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2014

Net Revenues

In the second quarter of fiscal year 2014, TAL reported net revenues of US$92.0 million, representing a 35.1% increase from US$68.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013. The increase was mainly driven by an increased number of total student enrollments combined with increased average selling prices (ASPs). Total student enrollments increased by 24.8% to approximately 308,490 from approximately 247,100 in the same period one year ago. The increase in total student enrollments was driven primarily by increases of enrollments in the small class offerings. ASP increased by 8.2% from US$275 in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013 to US$298 in the same quarter of fiscal year 2014. The growth in ASP was mainly driven by the hourly rate increases of a portion of the small class course offerings and the foreign exchange rate fluctuation.

Operating Costs and Expenses

Operating costs and expenses were US$67.6 million, a 31.6% increase from US$51.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013. Non-GAAP operating costs and expenses, which excluded share-based compensation expenses, were US$65.8 million, a 33.5% increase from US$49.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013.

Cost of revenues increased by 35.0% to US$43.0 million, from US$31.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013. The increase in cost of revenues was mainly due to an increase in teacher compensation, an increase in rental costs and other staff costs associated primarily with an expansion of learning center capacity, increases in wages and teacher fees and settlement of a third-party claim. Non-GAAP cost of revenues, which excluded share-based compensation expenses, increased by 35.1% to US$43.0 million, from US$31.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013.

Selling and marketing expenses increased by 20.9% to US$8.5 million, from US$7.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013. Non-GAAP selling and marketing expenses, which excluded share-based compensation expenses, increased by 26.1% to US$8.2 million, from US$6.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013. The increase of selling and marketing expenses in the second quarter of fiscal year 2014 was primarily a result of an increase in compensation to sales and marketing staff to support a greater number of programs and service offerings.

General and administrative expenses increased by 28.8% to US$16.1 million, from US$12.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013. The increase in general and administrative expenses was mainly due to an increase in compensation to our general and administrative personnel to support a greater number of programs and service offerings and depreciation expenses for Beijing office space. Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses, which excluded share-based compensation expenses, increased by 33.0% to US$14.6 million, from US$11.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013.

Total share-based compensation expenses allocated to the related operating costs and expenses decreased by 13.0% to US$1.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2014, from US$2.1 million in the same period of fiscal year 2013.

Gross Profit

Gross profit increased by 35.2% to US$49.0 million, from US$36.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013.

Income from Operations

Income from operations increased by 46.6% to US$24.4 million, from US$16.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013. Non-GAAP income from operations, which excluded share-based compensation expenses, increased by 40.0% to US$26.2 million, from US$18.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013.

Other Income / (Expense)

Other expense was US$0.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2014, compared to other income of US$0.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013. Other expense in this quarter was mainly due to the donation of US$0.2 million to support victims of the Ya’an earthquake.

Income Tax Expense

Income tax expense was US$3.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2014, as compared to US$2.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013.

Net Income Attributable to TAL Education Group

Net income attributable to TAL increased by 45.4% to US$23.3 million, from US$16.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013. Non-GAAP net income attributable to TAL, which excluded share-based compensation expenses, increased by 38.7% to US$25.1 million, from US$18.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013.

Basic and Diluted Net Income per ADS

Basic and diluted net income per ADS were US$0.30 and US$0.29, respectively, in the second quarter of fiscal year 2014. Non-GAAP basic and Non-GAAP diluted net income per ADS, which excluded share-based compensation expenses, were US$0.32 and US$0.31, respectively.

Capital Expenditures

Capital expenditures for the second quarter of fiscal year 2014 were US$3.3 million, representing an increase of US$1.6 million from US$1.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013. The increase was mainly from the purchase of equipment, including servers, computers, and other hardware used in our teaching facilities, to better support the Company’s operation.

Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Term Deposits

As of August 31, 2013, the Company had US$267.2 million of cash and cash equivalents and US$27.0 million of term deposits, as compared to US$185.1 million of cash and cash equivalents and US$24.1 million of term deposits as of February 28, 2013.

Deferred Revenue

As of August 31, 2013, the Company’s deferred revenue balance was US$143.7 million as compared to US$103.3 million as of August 31, 2012, representing an increase of 39.0% versus the same period of the previous year.

Business Outlook

Based on the Company’s current estimates, total net revenues for the third quarter of fiscal year 2014 are expected to be between US$69.5 million and US$71.0 million, representing an increase of 42% to 45% on a year-over-year basis.

These estimates reflect the Company’s current expectation, which is subject to change.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call and live webcast to discuss its financial results for the second fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2014 ended August 31, 2013 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on October 22, 2013 (8:00 p.m. Beijing time on October 22, 2013).

The dial-in details for the live conference call are as follows:

– U.S. toll free: +1-866-519-4004
– Hong Kong toll free: 800-930-346
– China toll free: 400-620-8038
– International toll: +65-6723-9381
Conference ID: 81911776

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Investor Relations section of TAL’s website at en.100tal.com.

A telephone replay of the conference call will be available through 11:59 a.m. U.S. Eastern time (11:59 p.m. Beijing time), October 29, 2013.

The dial-in details for the replay are as follows:

– U.S. toll free: +1-855-452-5696
– Hong Kong toll free: 800-963-117
– China toll free: 400-120-0932
– International toll: +61-2-8199-0299
Conference ID: 81911776

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other things, the outlook for the third quarter of fiscal year 2014, quotations from management in this announcement, as well as TAL Education Group’s strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual reports to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Com pany’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: its ability to continue to attract students to enroll in its courses; its ability to continue to recruit, train and retain qualified teachers; its ability to improve the content of its existing course offerings and to develop new courses; its ability to maintain and enhance its brand; its ability to maintain and continue to improve its teaching results; and its ability to compete effectively against its competitors. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company’s reports filed with, or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and TAL Education Group undertakes no duty to update such information or any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

About TAL Education Group

TAL Education Group is a leading K-12 after-school tutoring services provider in China. The acronym “TAL” stands for “Tomorrow Advancing Life,” which reflects our vision to promote top learning opportunities for Chinese students through both high-quality teaching and content, as well as leading edge application of technology in the education experience. TAL Education Group offers comprehensive tutoring services to students from pre-school to the twelfth grade through three flexible class formats: small classes, personalized premium services, and online courses. Our tutoring services cover the core academic subjects in China’s school curriculum including mathematics, English, Chinese, physics, chemistry, and biology. The Company’s learning center network includes 264 physical learning centers as of August 31, 2013, located in fifteen key cities in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xi`an, Chengdu, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Taiyuan, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Suzhou and Shenyang. We also operate www.eduu.com, a leading online education platform in China. Our ADSs trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “XRS.”

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In evaluating its business, TAL considers and uses the following measures defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the SEC as supplemental metrics to review and assess its operating performance: non-GAAP operating costs and expenses, non-GAAP cost of revenues, non-GAAP selling and marketing expenses, non-GAAP general and administrative expenses, non-GAAP income from operations, non-GAAP net income attributable to TAL, non-GAAP basic and non-GAAP diluted net income per ADS. To present each of these non-GAAP measures, the Company excludes share-based compensation expenses. 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 the most comparable GAAP measures” set forth at the end of this release.

TAL believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity by excluding share-based expenses that may not be indicative of its operating performance from a cash perspective. TAL 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 TAL’s historical performance and liquidity. TAL computes its non-GAAP financial measures using the same consistent method from quarter to quarter and from period to period. TAL 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 measures is that these non-GAAP measures exclude share-based compensation charges that have been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant recurring expense in the Company’s business. Management compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from each non-GAAP measure. The accompanying tables have more details on the reconciliations between GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures.

For further information, please contact:

Mei Li
Investor Relations
TAL Education Group
Tel: +861052926658
Email: ir

Caroline Straathof
IR Inside
Tel: +31 6 5462 4301
Email: info

TAL EDUCATION GROUP
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In U.S. dollars)
As of

February 28,
2013

As of

August 31,
2013

ASSETS
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 185,080,673 $ 267,184,130
Term deposits 24,110,716 26,963,868
Restricted cash-current 2,270,269 719,480
Available-for-sale securities 399,955 422,074
Inventory 410,167 346,363
Deferred tax assets-current 2,260,446 3,268,827
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 11,906,317 12,853,543
Total current assets 226,438,543 311,758,285
Restricted cash-non-current 2,403,966
Property and equipment, net 76,115,088 77,875,454
Deferred tax assets-non-current 538,464 950,582
Rental deposit 5,179,073 6,467,499
Intangible assets, net 1,724,444 1,532,245
Goodwill 555,194 564,448
Long-term investment 5,491,073 3,080,000
Total assets $ 316,041,879 $ 404,632,479
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities
Accounts payable (including accounts payable of the

consolidated VIEs without recourse to TAL Education

Group of 1,739,337 and1,704,868 as of February 28, 2013,
and August 31, 2013, respectively)

$ 2,009,473 $ 1,980,092
Deferred revenue (including deferred revenue of the

consolidated VIEs without recourse to TAL Education

Group of 67,743,448 and 107,198,687 as of February 28,
2013, and August 31, 2013, respectively)

102,513,876 143,685,668
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities (including

accrued expenses and other current liabilities of the

consolidated VIEs without recourse to TAL Education

Group of 11,269,507 and 18,021,990 as of February 28,
2013, and August 31, 2013, respectively)

17,196,001 25,637,839
Income tax payable (including income tax payable of the
consolidated VIEs without recourse to TAL Education

Group of 2,165,785 and 4,374,308 as of February 28,
2013, and August 31, 2013, respectively)

2,778,305 3,082,466
Total current liabilities 124,497,655 174,386,065
Deferred tax liabilities-non-current (including deferred tax
liabilities-non-current of the consolidated VIEs without
recourse to TAL Education Group of 36,845 and 31,924
as of February 28, 2013, and August 31, 2013,
respectively)
98,945 168,544
Long-term payable (including long-term payable of the
consolidated VIEs without recourse to TAL Education Group
of nil and 1,307,339 as of February 28, 2013, and August 31,
2013, respectively)
1,307,339
Total liabilities 124,596,600 175,861,948
TAL Education Group Shareholders’ Equity
Class A common shares 68,314 69,213
Class B common shares 87,806 87,806
Additional paid-in capital 86,016,387 89,600,473
Statutory reserve 12,291,341 12,291,341
Retained earnings 86,430,705 117,817,653
Accumulated other comprehensive income 6,550,726 8,904,045
Total TAL Education Group’s equity 191,445,279 228,770,531
Total liabilities and equity $ 316,041,879 $ 404,632,479
TAL EDUCATION GROUP
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(In U.S. dollars, except share, ADS, per share and per ADS data)
For the Three Months Ended

August 31,

For the Six Months Ended

August 31,

2012 2013 2012 2013
Net revenues $ 68,063,752 $ 91,968,361 $ 117,378,427 $ 153,366,749
Cost of revenues 31,845,082 42,993,981 57,622,215 74,913,633
Gross profit 36,218,670 48,974,380 59,756,212 78,453,116
Operating expenses (note 1)
Selling and marketing 7,012,903 8,477,695 13,145,236 16,269,718
General and administrative 12,532,377 16,144,405 23,959,949 31,170,396
Total operating expenses 19,545,280 24,622,100 37,105,185 47,440,114
Government Subsidies 87,610 38,069 93,661
Income from operations 16,673,390 24,439,890 22,689,096 31,106,663
Interest income 1,447,465 2,647,613 2,364,029 4,155,887
Other income / (expenses) 309,364 (290,237) (931,748) 517,281
Gain on short-term investment 18,089 297,120
Income before income tax
provision
18,430,219 26,815,355 24,121,377 36,076,951
Provision for income tax (2,388,159) (3,485,970) (3,128,009) (4,690,003)
Net income 16,042,060 23,329,385 20,993,368 31,386,948
Total net income attributable
to TAL Education Group
$ 16,042,060 $ 23,329,385 $ 20,993,368 $ 31,386,948
Net income per common share
Basic $ 0.10 $ 0.15 $ 0.14 $ 0.20
Diluted 0.10 0.15 0.13 0.20
Net income per ADS (note 2)
Basic 0.21 0.30 0.27 0.40
Diluted $ 0.21 $ 0.29 $ 0.27 $ 0.39
Other comprehensive income, net of tax 322,790 371,836 (769,149) 2,353,319
COMPREHENSIVE INCOME 16,364,850 23,701,221 20,224,219 33,740,267
Comprehensive income attributable to TAL Education Group $ 16,364,850 $ 23,701,221 $ 20,224,219 $ 33,740,267
Weighted average shares used in calculating net income per
common share
Basic 155,387,963 156,488,897 155,173,004 156,304,523
Diluted 156,311,147 159,797,296 156,432,354 159,245,689
Note1: Share-based compensation expenses are included in the operating costs and expenses as follows:
For the Three Months For the Six Months
Ended August 31 Ended August 31
2012 2013 2012 2013
Cost of revenues $ 38,115 $ 11,277 $ 88,711 $ 22,068
Selling and marketing 494,524 261,118 1,066,860 584,988
General and administrative 1,546,212 1,536,442 3,152,170 3,092,193
Total $ 2,078,851 $ 1,808,837 $ 4,307,741 $ 3,699,249
Note 2: Each ADS represents two Class A common shares.
TAL EDUCATION GROUP
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures to the Most Comparable GAAP Measures
(In U.S. dollars, except share, ADS, per share and per ADS data)
For the Three Months
Ended
August 31,
For the Six Months
Ended August 31,
2012 2013 2012 2013
Cost of revenues $ 31,845,082 $ 42,993,981 $ 57,622,215 $ 74,913,633
Share-based compensation expense
in cost of revenues
38,115 11,277 88,711 22,068
Non-GAAP cost of revenues 31,806,967 42,982,704 57,533,504 74,891,565
Selling and marketing expenses 7,012,903 8,477,695 13,145,236 16,269,718
Share-based compensation expense
in selling and marketing expenses
494,524 261,118 1,066,860 584,988
Non-GAAP selling and marketing expenses 6,518,379 8,216,577 12,078,376 15,684,730
General and administrative expenses 12,532,377 16,144,405 23,959,949 31,170,396
Share-based compensation expense
in general and administrative
expenses
1,546,212 1,536,442 3,152,170 3,092,193
Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses 10,986,165 14,607,963 20,807,779 28,078,203
Operating costs and expenses 51,390,362 67,616,081 94,727,400 122,353,747
Share-based compensation expense
in operating costs and expenses
2,078,851 1,808,837 4,307,741 3,699,249
Non-GAAP operating costs and expenses 49,311,511 65,807,244 90,419,659 118,654,498
Income from operations 16,673,390 24,439,890 22,689,096 31,106,663
Share based compensation expenses 2,078,851 1,808,837 4,307,741 3,699,249
Non-GAAP income from operations 18,752,241 26,248,727 26,996,837 34,805,912
Net income attributable to TAL Education Group 16,042,060 23,329,385 20,993,368 31,386,948
Share based compensation expenses 2,078,851 1,808,837 4,307,741 3,699,249
Non-GAAP net income attributable to TAL Education Group $ 18,120,911 $ 25,138,222 $ 25,301,109 $ 35,086,197
Net income per ADS
Basic $ 0.21 $ 0.30 $ 0.27 $ 0.40
Diluted 0.21 0.29 0.27 0.39
Non-GAAP Net income per ADS (note 3)
Basic 0.23 0.32 0.33 0.45
Diluted $ 0.23 $ 0.31 $ 0.32 $ 0.44
ADSs used in calculating net income per ADS
Basic 77,693,982 78,244,448 77,586,502 78,152,262
Diluted 78,155,573 79,898,648 78,216,177 79,622,845
Note 3: The Non-GAAP adjusted net income per ADS is computed using Non-GAAP adjusted net income and the same number of ADSs used in GAAP basic and diluted EPS calculation.

ACCA Invites Degree & Sub-Degree Students in Hong Kong to Develop a Sustainable Business Model in Serving the Elderly

HONG KONG, Oct. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Launched by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Hong Kong since 2007, the ACCA Hong Kong Business Competition 2013 opens for degree and sub-degree students, inviting full-time accounting and business students from local institutes to participate. Upon the close of application period, the organiser had received applications from 532 teams with 2,000 students enrolled. A total of 263 teams of degree students and 269 teams of sub-degree students will compete for the Championship of the respective categories.

Having HKCSS-HSBC Social Enterprise Business Centre (SEBC) as the Partner Organisation, this year’s Competition invites contesting teams, comprising two to four accounting and/or business students of the same institute, to develop a business model targeting the elderly (aged over 60) as potential customers. Contesting teams will take up the role of business consultants to prepare a proposal based on a 2-year funding plan of HKD 1 million which aims at providing elderly a “shop freely & serve friendly” shopping experience.

Brenda Lam, Head of Learning and Development of ACCA Hong Kong, said that the Competition aims to provide an effective platform for equipping students with business analytical skills, business proposal writing skills, communication skills and presentation skills through working in a real and interesting business situation in a team environment.

The proposals will be evaluated based on creativity, feasibility, sustainability, budgeting and attractiveness to the elderly. The top five finalist teams of each of the degree and sub-degree categories will be invited to present their proposals to the panel of judges during the Final Competition on 16 November (Degree) and 30 November (Sub-degree) to compete for the Championship.

To learn more about the Competition, please visit: http://apps.facebook.com/accacompetition

Notes to Editors

Partner Organisation

HKCSS-HSBC Social Enterprise Business Centre (SEBC), So-Biz Project

Company Sponsors

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, Hutchison Global Communications Limited, KPMG, PwC, The Hung Hing Ying & Leung Hau Ling Charitable Foundation

Supporting Organisations

Hong Kong General Chamber of Social Enterprises Limited, Hong Kong Movie Star Sports Association Charities, Hong Kong Social Entrepreneurship Forum, Joint Committee for Mainland Student and Scholar Associations in Hong Kong Universities

Chinese Newspaper Media Partner

Ming Pao Newspapers Limited

English Newspaper Media Partner

South China Morning Post

Official Recruitment Partner

Classified Post

SANS Institute and ETDA-ThaiCERT Collaborate to Build Thailand’s National Cybersecurity Competency

  • Focusing on 5 Critical Success Factors

BANGKOK, Oct. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The US-based SANS Institute, the most trusted and largest source for computer security training, certification and research worldwide and the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (Public Organization) (ETDA), of which the Thailand Computer Emergency Response Team (ThaiCERT) is a lead unit, announced the establishment of a partnership to facilitate Thailand’s cybersecurity competency development.

An MOU indicating the collaborative intentions of both organizations was signed on Monday, October 21, by Mrs. Surangkana Wayuparb, Chief Executive Officer of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (Public Organization) and Mr. Mason Brown, Chief Executive Officer and Director of the SANS Institute. The objective of the collaboration between SANS and ETDA is to build national cybersecurity competency by increasing the number of skilled professionals to help defend and protect the Kingdom of Thailand’s critical information infrastructure.

The following issues have been identified in a preparatory discussion as key success factors in developing the Kingdom of Thailand’s cybersecurity capabilities:

  • Finding the right candidates who will possess the baseline skills and potential to succeed in the program
  • Training content that is technically current, with a reliable and proven process for continual updates
  • Identifying instructors with proven mastery of technical skills and extraordinary teaching abilities
  • Demonstrating that students actually master class materials by evaluating hands-on demonstrations of the required capabilities
  • Establishing cadres of talent in Thailand capable of independently carrying out program objectives and developing a pipeline of talented people to ensure sustainability of success

Cyber attacks are an ever-evolving threat landscape and it is vital that security professionals in the Kingdom of Thailand are provided with hands-on training to prepare them for real-world attacks and how to react when a breach occurs,” Mr. Brown said. “ETDA has a deep understanding of the five critical success factors and is demonstrating an impressive commitment toward closing the gap to enable Thailand to play a key role in regional cyber leadership.”

“To combat cyber threats effectively, we need to increase our human resource pool and raise the competency level of Thai IT security professionals to achieve world standards. Partnering with SANS, a highly capable global information security training institute, will help facilitate the process and give us a head start in the right direction,” said Mrs. Wayuparb, CEO, ETDA.