In the second quarter, net profit attributable to shareholders of NEW ORIENTAL-S (09901) increased by 6.2% year-on-year to $31.93 million.

New Oriental-S (09901) announced unaudited financial performance for the second quarter ending on November 30, 2024. Net revenue increased by 19.4% year-on-year to $1.0386 billion, while net revenue (excluding revenue from EAST BUY self-operated products and live e-commerce business) increased by 31.3% year-on-year to $0.8942 billion. Operating profit decreased by 9.8% year-on-year to $19.30 million, while operating profit (excluding operating losses from EAST BUY self-operated products and live e-commerce business) increased by 102.5% year-on-year to $25 million. Shareholders' net profit attributable to New Oriental increased by 6.2% year-on-year to $31.931 million. In the first half of the 2025 fiscal year, net revenue was approximately $2.474 billion, a 25.6% increase year-on-year. Operating profit was approximately $312 million, a 37.9% increase year-on-year. Shareholders' net profit attributable to New Oriental was approximately $277 million, a 41.9% increase year-on-year. Yu Minhong, Chairman of the Board of New Oriental, stated, "We are encouraged by the continued healthy growth of 19.4% in revenue in the second fiscal quarter of this year. Net revenue (excluding revenue from EAST BUY self-operated products and live e-commerce business) increased by 31.3% year-on-year. Our overseas exam preparation and consulting businesses saw year-on-year growth of approximately 21.1% and 31.0%, respectively. In addition, our domestic exam preparation business for adults and college students recorded a year-on-year growth of approximately 34.9%. On the other hand, our new education businesses maintained strong growth momentum in this quarter, with revenue increasing by 42.6% year-on-year. With our strong educational resources, we will enhance service quality and operational efficiency, continue to implement long-term strategies, improve profitability, and strike a balance between stability and sustainable growth." Zhou Chenggang, CEO of New Oriental, said, "In this quarter, we closely monitored the expansion of teaching space to align with revenue growth and operational efficiency. At the same time, we continue to improve the OMO teaching system and utilize new technologies to enhance user experience and support the growth of our educational products. Additionally, in the first six months of the 2025 fiscal year, EAST BUY expanded its self-operated products to 600 SKUs, including healthcare and pet food. Its self-operated products contributed approximately 37% of total GMV. To reach a wider customer base, EAST BUY utilizes online stores and live e-commerce platforms, and explores offline channels in New Oriental learning centers through vending machines." Yang Zhihui, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of New Oriental, pointed out, "Despite the second quarter being a traditional off-season, we were able to achieve a Non-GAAP operating profit of $27.60 million in this fiscal quarter, and the operating profit margin of core education business also slightly improved compared to the same period last year. In order to better reflect New Oriental's core education business, the following operating profit data for this quarter does not include the financial performance of EAST BUY self-operated products and live e-commerce business. Our GAAP operating profit margin for this quarter (excluding EAST BUY self-operated products and live e-commerce business) was 2.8%, an increase of 100 basis points year-on-year. The Non-GAAP operating profit margin for this quarter (excluding EAST BUY self-operated products and live e-commerce business) was 3.2%, an increase of 12 basis points year-on-year. We generated a net operating cash flow of $313.3 million in this quarter; by the end of this quarter, the total amount of cash and cash equivalents, time deposits, and short-term investments was approximately $4.8 billion. In the second half of this fiscal year, we will continue to focus on improving teaching space utilization and operational efficiency. In the long run, we are confident in creating sustainable value for customers and shareholders." Furthermore, in July 2022, the New Oriental Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase plan, allowing the company to repurchase up to $400 million worth of the company's American Depositary Shares or common stock within the next 12 months. The Board further approved an extension of the validity period of its share buyback plan until May 31, 2025, and increased the total value of authorized share repurchases from $400 million to $700 million. As of January 20, 2025, the company has repurchased approximately 11.2 million shares of American Depositary Shares on the open market under this share repurchase plan, totaling approximately $5.428 billion. New Oriental expects net revenue (excluding revenue from EAST BUY self-operated products and live e-commerce business) for the third quarter of the 2025 fiscal year (from December 1, 2024, to February 28, 2025) to be between $1.0073 billion and $1.0325 billion, with a year-on-year growth rate between 18% and 21%. The expected revenue growth in RMB for the third quarter of the 2025 fiscal year is expected to be between 20% and 23%.