Four Seasons Education recently released its unaudited financial performance for the first half of the 2024 fiscal year as of August 31, 2023. The revenue during the period increased by 347.5% from 13.8 million yuan in the same period last year to 61.8 million yuan.
During the period, Four Seasons Education also achieved a turnaround from losses to profits, recording a net profit of 5.7 million yuan, compared to a net loss of 23.9 million yuan in the same period last year.
Performance is showing signs of improvement
Regarding the changes in revenue and profit during this financial reporting period, Zuo Yi, CEO of Four Seasons Education, stated in the financial report that the significant increase in revenue during the period was mainly attributed to the strong growth of the tourism business and the growth of non academic tutoring business. In addition, due to improvements in operational leverage and prudent cost management, the profits of Four Seasons Education have also turned positive during this period.
But according to the financial report, in the first half of the 2024 fiscal year, the total cost of education revenue in the fourth quarter was 35.1 million yuan, an increase of 242.6% from 10.3 million yuan in the same period last year, which is basically consistent with the growth rate of revenue. For the rapid increase in costs, Four Seasons Education stated that it is mainly due to the increase in costs related to the company's tourism business, as well as the increase in non academic tutoring business and employee costs and revenue.
The various expenses of Four Seasons Education have decreased during the reporting period. During the period, the general and management expenses of Four Seasons Education amounted to 23.5 million yuan, a decrease of 10.6% from 26.3 million yuan in the same period last year. This was mainly attributed to one-time expenses related to the spin off of stock reserves that occurred last year, and there were no related expenses this year. Sales and marketing expenses decreased by 11.2% year-on-year to 2.2 million yuan, and Four Seasons Education stated that the decrease in expenses was mainly due to the company's cost control measures.
In terms of profit, the gross profit of education in the first half of fiscal year 2024 increased by 65.1% from 3.6 million yuan in the same period last year to 26.7 million yuan; The net profit was 5.7 million yuan, while the net loss for the same period last year was 23.9 million yuan.
As of August 31, 2023, the cash and cash equivalents held by Four Seasons Education were RMB 221 million, compared to RMB 175.7 million as of February 28, 2023, a year-on-year increase.
Transforming cultural and tourism, focusing on academic research and elderly tourism
In its previous fiscal year report, Four Seasons Education stated that it has and will continue to shift its business focus towards non academic education products and services, and explore other business opportunities. At present, the key business has been adjusted to mainly include learning services for non disciplinary training; Learning technology and content solutions, mainly including course design and development services, digital learning systems, student management platforms, and promotion assistance provided to schools and educational institutions, employee outsourcing services, etc; As well as learning camps and research services, we aim to create an immersive learning experience that meets the emerging needs of group and individual learners for scenario based, experiential, and interactive learning and training.
In this semi annual report, Zuo Yi, CEO of Four Seasons Education, stated that both domestic and outbound tourism businesses experienced rapid growth during the Four Seasons Education period. In addition to regular travel agency business, a series of themed travel research and learning programs have also been launched for students. At the same time, Four Seasons Education is actively developing and providing tailored tourism projects for the elderly.
Zuo Yi pointed out that as of now, the operation and construction of the exclusive learning camp of Four Seasons Education have progressed smoothly, and the company is steadily expanding the service scope of the learning camp. A new camp in Jiangxi Province is under construction, and some facilities will be opened next year.
In addition, in terms of non disciplinary tutoring services, Four Seasons Education is withdrawing from a more diverse range of academic products to meet the learning needs of a wider age group. We have further expanded our school-based tutoring product solutions and teacher training programs. Recently, Four Seasons Education has also launched overseas study preparation and consulting services, with the goal of providing more comprehensive services to customer groups and communities.
Zuo Yi summarized, "Looking into the future, we plan to further explore new business opportunities that comply with the relevant rules and regulations of the tourism and education related service industry. As we navigate market dynamics and cycles, we will continue to be committed to advancing our strategy by further enriching our service products, diversifying our customer base, and investing in our core capabilities to develop our business and increase shareholder value.".