JH Education Announces 2020 Annual Results: A Sharp Increase of 51% in Profit Attributable to Owners of the Company

Enrollment Scale and Business Network continues to expand Leading Position in Regional Industry is consolidated

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 26 Mar 2021 – JH Educational Technology INC. (“JH Education” or the “Company“, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group“, stock code: 1935.HK) is pleased to announce its audited annual results for the year ended  31 December, 2020 (the “Year“).

During the Year, the revenue of the Group increased by 16% to RMB561.3 million, the gross profit rose by 30% to RMB334.3 million, and the profit for the Year increased 43% to RMB325.6 million. Due to the increase in the number of new student enrollment and student enrollment, profit attributable to owners of the Company recorded a significant increase of approximately 51% to RMB265.9 million as compared to the same period last year. And the Group recorded a core net profit of approximately RMB331.8 million during the Year. The Board of Directors recommended a final dividend of HK5.00 cents and a special final dividend of HK6.25 cents per ordinary share for the Year.

Enrollment Scale Continues to Expand and the Leading Position in Regional Industry is Continuously Consolidated 

Benefited from the widely-recognized educational quality and smooth progress of the campus expansion plan of the Group during the Year, new student enrollments of schools operated by the Group experienced a significant growth. New enrollment of Zhejiang Changzheng Vocational & Technology College (“Changzheng College”) in Zhejiang Province in 2020/2021 school year was 13,542 students, an increase of 18% year-on-year, which was ranked No. 1 among student enrollment programs of private junior colleges in Zhejiang province. The new enrollment of Zhengzhou College of Economics and Business (“College of Economics and Business”) in Henan Province in the 2020/2021 school year increased 12% year-on-year to 24,147 students, which was top-ranking among all undergraduate enrollment programs of private undergraduate colleges in Henan province. Over the years, the Group is committed to providing high-quality private education to students, dedicating resources to designing comprehensive and diversified curriculums for equipping students with readily applicable and practical skills, and creating and regularly updating major offerings with labor market orientation. Therefore, the employment rates for graduates from Changzheng College and College of Economics and Business have been consistently higher than similar colleges in the respective provinces.

Innovative Teaching Methods and Stable Operation during the Pandemic

There was an outbreak of the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) across China in early 2020. The Group strictly accorded top priority to the personal safety and health of its teachers and students and comprehensively implemented the requirements under “level 1 response” to effectively prevent the spread of the pandemic into the campus. Closed-end management has been adopted for the campus and the time for students to return to school for the spring semester has been postponed. During the outbreak of the pandemic, the Group strengthened the tutoring for students and implemented the policy of suspension of classes but no suspension of learning. Teaching plans and management plans during this special period have been formulated scientifically by actively utilizing the “Internet+” model to launch remote educational and teaching activities or online learning programs. Benefited from the innovative teaching methods and reasonable measures adopted by the Group, the remote academic tutoring was launched in an orderly manner. All teaching goals have been completed on schedule and the Group’s operation was stable. Upon evaluation, the Group considered that the outbreak of COVID-19 has had no obvious negative impact on the operation and financial condition of the Group.

The Strategy of “Acquisition + Campus Expansion” accelerates the Business Expansion

To strengthen the position as the largest private provider of formal higher education in Zhejiang province, the Group actively promotes the dual cultivation of “Acquisition + Campus Expansion” in order to accelerate the expansion of the school network and meet the growing demand for school quotas.

On one hand, the Group actively seeks potential investment opportunities in the market and plans to acquire or invest in schools that offer higher education with relatively low utilization rates and/or have substantial growth potential in the PRC. The Group prefers to acquire qualified undergraduate colleges and/or junior colleges whose school sponsors have elected them to be for-profit private schools in central China, eastern China and southern China. At present, the acquisition plan is preparing and advancing steadily.

On the other hand, except for acquisitions, the Group plans to establish a new campus of College of Economics and Business in Kaifeng, Henan Province, that will primarily offer undergraduate courses. The estimated student capacity is approximately 15,000 students. Moreover, the Group plans to establish a new campus of Changzheng College with an aggregate expected enrollment of not less than 5,000 students. Given the continuous expansion of enrollment scale, the Group also actively promotes the expansion of the campus and extends the school network to provide guarantee for the expansion of enrollment. In 2020, the Group completed the expansion of the main campus of College of Economics and Business by constructing three additional student dormitories and two new teaching buildings with an aggregate gross floor area of 27,000 sq.m.. From the new school year beginning in September 2020, student capacity of College of Economics and Business has increased to 24,809 students. In 2020, the Group completed the expansion of the existing campus of Changzheng College and the student capacity of Changzheng College has increased to 13,900 students starting from 2020/2021 school year. The Group is planning to further expand the main campus of College of Economics and Business and Changzheng College to increase the student capacity.

Mr. Chen Yuguo, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of JH Education said, “Education is a never-ending business. In 2020, in face of complex economic environment, people’s demand for education have never diminished. The growing demand for education promotes the development of quality education. In order to better meet the needs of talent training and labor market, the state has continuously introduced favorable policies to support the development of education. Over the years, JH Education has adhered to the educational philosophy of ‘people-oriented education, moral cultivation, serve the society and pursuit of excellence’, and is committed to providing high-quality private higher education. Looking forward, JH Education will continue to focus on providing high-quality private higher education, seize the market opportunities, actively achieve sustainable development, expand the business scale and school network, optimize the operation, and bring substantial returns to shareholders.”