Edvantage Group (0382.HK) Announced Its Business Update For the First 3 Months of FY2021

HONG KONG, Jan 20, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Edvantage Group Holdings Limited (“Edvantage Group” or the “Group”, stock code: 0382.HK), the largest private higher education group in the Greater Bay Area (“GBA”), announced its unaudited financial data and the latest business update for the 3 months ended 30 November 2020 (“Period under Review”).

Business Update Highlights (Unaudited related data for the 3 months ended 30 November 2020)
– Revenue increased by 15.6% YoY to approximately RMB243.6 million;
– Gross profit rose by 16.6% YoY to approximately RMB121.5 million, and gross profit margin rose by 0.4 ppts YoY to 49.9%;
– Number of students(1) increased by 10.1% YoY to 38,784;
– Average tuition fee of Huashang College increased by 7.8% YoY to RMB26,603, and average tuition fee of Huashang Vocational College increased by 4.7% YoY to RMB16,355;
– The group was included in MSCI China All Shares Small Cap Index with effect from the market close of 30 November 2020.
Note: (1) Number of students is the sum of numbers of Huashang College, Huashang Vocational College, Global Business College of Australia and Edvantage Institute (Singapore) for the 3 months ended 30 November 2020;

During the Period under Review, the Group’s revenue accounted for approximately RMB243.6 million, increasing by 15.6% year on year (“YoY”). Its gross profit amounted to approximately RMB121.5 million, growing by 16.6% YoY, and the gross profit margin was 49.9%, growing by 0.4 percentage points YoY. The Group’s total number of students amounted to 38,784, a YoY increase of 10.1%. The average tuition fee of Huashang College Guangdong University of Finance & Economics (“Huashang College”) was RMB26,603, a YoY growth of 7.8%, and that of Guangzhou Huashang Vocational College (“Huashang Vocational College”) was RMB16,355, a YoY growth of 4.7%. Meanwhile, the Group was included as a constituent for the MSCI China All Shares Small Cap Index with effect from the market close of 30 November 2020, realising its investing value and enhancing its reputation in the capital market.

Operation Review
During the Period under Review, Edvantage Group operated a total of 5 schools in China and overseas, including an undergraduate school of Huashang College and a diploma school of Huashang Vocational College for college degree in China. Overseas, it ran Global Business College of Australia (“GBCA”) registered with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (“ASQA”) as well as Edvantage Institute (Singapore) (“EIS”) with EduTrust Certificate awarded by the Committee for Private Education of Singapore, plus Edvantage Institute Australia (“EIA”) registered with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (“TEQSA”) of Australia.

Reached Record Highs in Number of Students, Enrolment Rate, Minimum Scores and Average Tuition Fee
Our China schools, Huashang College and Huashang Vocational College, both recorded new highs in the number of student enrolments, enrolment rate, minimum scores for admission, and average tuition fee for the 2020/2021 school year.

– Huashang College: As of 30 November 2020, the number of students was 24,988, a YoY increase of 872; the enrolment rate was 95.68%, a YoY increase of 3.86%; the minimum scores of liberal arts and science students for admission in the 2020/2021 school year were approximately 34 and approximately 33 points higher than minimum admission scores of Guangdong Province, respectively; and the average tuition fee for its students was RMB26,603, a YoY increase of 7.8%;

– Huashang Vocational College: As of 30 November 2020, the number of students was 13,336, a YoY increase of 2,675; the enrolment rate was 85.58%, a YoY increase of 2.44%; the average tuition fee for its students was RMB16,355, a YoY increase of 4.7%.

Financial Management ranked as leading top majors for development in Guangdong Province: Huashang College made a new breakthrough in disciplinary building as the Financial Management major of its School of Accounting became one of the leading top majors for development in Guangdong Province in November 2020. Prior to this, the college’s Accounting and Journalism & Communication had already been respectively listed as a featured key discipline and a key development discipline in Guangdong Province.

Our overseas schools, namely GBCA and EIS, both brought their classes online and the classes went smoothly. Another overseas school, EIA, was successfully registered to accept overseas students in September 2020 and began its classes for the undergraduate programmes at the end of November 2020.

Business Update
Endogenous Growth – Expansion of New Campuses
The Group promoted its businesses with both endogenous growth and outreach mergers and acquisitions (M&As). During the Period under Review and up to now, the Group made progress in endogenous growth and outreach M&As of its full-time academic and vocational education businesses, mainly reflected as below:

Xinhui new campus will commence operation in September 2021, vigorously developing vocational education: The Group’s campus under construction in Xinhui District, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province will be the new campus of Huashang Vocational College. It covers an area of approximately 2,000 Mu and is expected to accommodate approximately 30,000 students. The first phase, covering approximately 683 Mu, is expected to accommodate approximately 12,000 students and be put into use in September 2021. After its commencement of operation, the remaining phases of construction will be undertaken in the coming years.

Sihui new campus has been put in use: The new campus of the Group’s Huashang College, also known as the new campus for undergraduate programmes, in Sihui, Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province covers an area of approximately 800 Mu and is expected to accommodate approximately 16,000 students. The first phase, with an area of approximately 248 Mu, was put into use in September 2020 with a capacity of approximately 6,000 students. Also, the Group secured a land parcel of approximately 234 Mu as part of the second-phase construction in November 2020.

With the completion of Sihui and Xinhui new campuses, together with the approximately 38,000-student capacity of Zengcheng Campus, the Group’s 3 campuses in the core regions of the Greater Bay Area will offer capacity of approximately 80,000 students.

Outreach M&A
The Group has been looking for targets for M&As in the Pan-Pearl River Delta region with strong demand for higher education resources. Undergraduate colleges are prime targets, but excellent junior colleges will also be considered. The Group has undertaken its first acquisition of schools since it was listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 16 July 2019. The Group will make corresponding disclosures in due course if there are new projects in the future.

Future Development Blueprint
Looking forward, the Group will seize the opportunity of national support for the development of private higher education and make use of its own advantages and track records to promote the steady development of its two main businesses, namely academic education and vocational education, through endogenous growth and external expansion, asset-heavy and asset-light operations, and online-offline integration. The Group “stands on Greater Bay Area, towards the nation, and reaches the world,” establishing more international schools to nurture more application talents equipped with global vision and innovation. In this way, it works to become a world-renowned high-level education group, thereby constantly creating value for its shareholders.

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-Macao Greater Bay Area and an early mover in education sector in pursuing international expansion. As of 30 November 2020, the Group has approximately 38,784 students in a total of 5 schools both in China and overseas.

In China, the Group currently operates two Chinese private higher education institutions in Guangdong Province, namely, the undergraduate college, Huashang College Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, and the junior college, the Guangzhou Huashang Vocational College, with the strategic focus of major business, major health and IT as the main curriculum. Overseas, the Group operates a private vocational education institution named Global Business College of Australia (“GBCA”) authorised by Australian Skills Quality Authority (“ASQA”) in Australia, offering vocational education courses and non-formal short-term courses. GBCA is the first Chinese international education institution approved by the Australian government. In December 2019, the Group also acquired a private vocational education institution in Singapore with an EduTrust certification from the Ministry of Education, that is, Edvantage Institute (Singapore) (“EIS”) (formerly known as NYU Language School), which provides short-term and long-term language training courses, various kinds of diploma and higher diploma programmes. Moreover, in the first half of 2020, the Group’s Edvantage Institute Australia (“EIA”) was authorised and approved by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (“TEQSA”), being the Group’s first higher education institution qualified to offer and award both undergraduate and master’s degrees.

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