Ambow Education : First Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Ambow Education Announces First Quarter 2021 Financial Results

BEIJING, June 28, 2021 -- Ambow Education Holding Ltd. ("Ambow" or the "Company") (NYSE American: AMBO), a leading national provider of educational and career enhancement services in China, today announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2021.

"We are pleased to start 2021 with better-than-expected first quarter results, highlighted by a 43.5% year- over-year increase in total revenues, thanks to the strong execution of our overall strategy which focuses on operational improvements," said Dr. Jin Huang, Ambow's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Specifically, we further revived solid gross margin expansion for both of our CP&CE Programs and K- 12 Schools segments during the quarter, lifting it even higher than the same period in 2019. As a prominent education brand in China, we remain committed to delivering in-demand and high-quality educational services for our learners in their pursuit of academic and professional excellence."

"Supported by our industry-leading intelligent education products, we endeavor to provide superior online talent training to address various career enhancement needs. For example, we cooperated with Kylinsoft to provide a suite of education services across a series of Kylinsoft operating system products, spanning training courses, certification programs, internship placement, employment services and industrial colleges. We also formed a strategic cooperation with Adobe Authorized Training Centre to provide international certification services for Chinese students. Meanwhile, we further integrated advanced technology into our educational services to increase our competitiveness. We launched a blockchain-basedcareer-oriented education skills recognition system to redefine educational accreditation for professional talents. Looking ahead, we will remain focused on harnessing our technological capabilities to offer a broader range of education services in China and U.S., while enhancing operating efficiency. We believe these efforts, coupled with our 20-year proven track record in the education sector, will help us grow our overall business while delivering long-term value to our shareholders," concluded Dr. Huang.

First Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights

• Net revenues for the first quarter of 2021 increased by 43.5% to RMB129.6 million (US$19.8 million) from RMB90.3 million in the same period of 2020. The increase was primarily due to the full business recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and higher revenue contribution from
  NewSchool of Architecture and Design, LLC ("NewSchool") which was acquired and consolidated by the Company from March 2020.
• Gross profit for the first quarter of 2021 increased by 287.8% to RMB44.6 million (US$6.8 million) from RMB11.5 million in the same period of 2020. Gross profit margin was 34.4%, compared with 12.7% for the first quarter of 2020. The increases in gross profit and margin were mainly attributable to faster growth of net revenues in the period.

• Operating expenses for the first quarter of 2021 increased by 17.5% to RMB59.8 million (US$9.1 million) from RMB50.9 million in the same period of 2020. The increase was primarily attributable to more expenses related to NewSchool compared to the first quarter of 2020 as the consolidation of NewSchool started in March 2020.
• Operating loss for the first quarter of 2021 was RMB15.2 million (US$2.3 million), compared to operating loss of RMB39.3 million in the same period of 2020.
• Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders for the first quarter of 2021 was RMB14.3 million (US$2.2 million), or RMB0.31 (US$0.05) per basic and diluted share, compared with net income of RMB6.0 million, or RMB0.14 (US$0.02) per basic and diluted share for the same period of 2020. Excluding the one-time gain from bargain purchase of NewSchool of RMB40.3 million, net loss for the first quarter of 2020 was RMB34.3 million or RMB0.79 (US$0.11) per basic and diluted share.
• As of March 31, 2021, Ambow maintained strong cash resources of RMB281.4 million (US$42.9 million), comprised of cash and cash equivalents of RMB121.4 million (US$18.5 million), short-term investments of RMB158.2 million (US$24.1 million) and restricted cash of RMB1.8 million (US$0.3 million).
• As of March 31, 2021, the Company's deferred revenue balance was RMB181.3 million (US$27.7 million), representing a 10.8% increase compared with RMB163.7 million as of December 31, 2020, mainly attributable to the tuition and fees collected at K-12 business segment for the spring semester of the 2020-2021 academic year, and increase in deferred revenue at CP&CE business segment.

The Company's first quarter 2021 financial and operating results can also be found on its Form 6-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

Exchange Rate Information

This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars at a specified rate solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, all amounts translated from RMB to U.S. dollars for the first quarter of 2021 are based on the effective exchange rate of 6.5518 as of March 31, 2021; all amounts translated from RMB to U.S. dollars for the first quarter of 2020 are based on the effective exchange rate of 7.0808 as of March 31, 2020; all amounts translated from RMB to U.S. dollars as of December 31, 2020 are based on the effective exchange rate of 6.5250 as of December 31, 2020. The exchange rates were according to the middle rate as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board.

About Ambow Education Holding Ltd.

Ambow Education Holding Ltd. is a leading national provider of educational and career enhancement services in China, offering high-quality, individualized services and products. With its extensive network of regional service hubs complemented by a dynamic proprietary learning platform and distributors,

Ambow provides its services and products to students in 15 out of the 34 provinces and autonomous regions within China.

Follow us on Twitter: @Ambow_Education

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 and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as Ambow's strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. Ambow may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed 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. 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 statements, including but not limited to the following: the Company's goals and strategies, expansion plans, the expected growth of the content and application delivery services market, the Company's expectations regarding keeping and strengthening its relationships with its customers, and the general economic and business conditions in the regions where the Company provides its solutions and services. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Ambow undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

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AMBOW EDUCATION HOLDING LTD.

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data)

			As of March 31,				As of December 31,
			2021		2020
			US$	RMB			RMB
	ASSETS
	Current assets:
	Cash and cash equivalents		18,526				121,381			118,821
	Restricted cash		271				1,773	824
	Short term investments, available for sale	11,326				74,206			117,854
	Short term investments, held to maturity	12,821				84,000	45,000
	Accounts receivable, net		2,863				18,758			20,972
	Amounts due from related parties	464				3,037	3,024
	Prepaid and other current assets, net	18,184				119,136			117,634
	Total current assets		64,455				422,291		424,129
	Non-current assets:
	Property and equipment, net		21,483				140,751	144,492
	Land use rights, net		260				1,704			1,715
	Intangible assets, net		8,287				54,296	54,808
	Goodwill		3,924				25,710			25,710
	Deferred tax assets, net		901				5,903	6,338
	Operating lease right-of-use asset	36,775				240,945			247,608
	Finance lease right-of-use asset	870				5,700	5,850
	Other non-current assets, net		21,700				142,176			139,067
	Total non-current assets		94,200				617,185		625,588
	Total assets		158,655				1,039,476	1,049,717
	LIABILITIES
	Current liabilities:
	Short-term borrowing *		1,526				10,000	10,000
	Deferred revenue *		27,676				181,325			163,699
	Accounts payable *		2,795				18,311	19,423
	Accrued and other liabilities *		31,273				204,895			209,590
	Income taxes payable, current	*	28,298				185,403	184,638
	Amounts due to related parties	*	388				2,543			2,543
	Operating lease liability, current *	7,506				49,177	53,702
	Total current liabilities		99,462				651,654			643,595
	Non-current liabilities:

Long-term borrowing

Other non-current liabilities * Income taxes payable, non-current * Operating lease liability, non-current *

Total non-current liabilities

Total liabilities

1,475		9,662		9,594
29	189	292
5,368		35,173		34,763
32,944	215,843	220,319
39,816		260,867		264,968
139,278		912,521		908,563

	EQUITY
	Preferred shares
	(US$ 0.003 par value;1,666,667 shares
	authorized, nil issued and outstanding as of
	December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2021)			-		-		-
	Class A Ordinary shares
	(US$0.003 par value; 66,666,667 and
	66,666,667 shares authorized, 41,923,276
	and 41,935,776 shares issued and
	outstanding as of December 31, 2020 and
	March 31, 2021, respectively)			121		794		794
	Class C Ordinary shares
	(US$0.003 par value; 8,333,333 and 8,333,333
	shares authorized, 4,708,415 and 4,708,415
	shares issued and outstanding as of
	December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2021,
	respectively)			14		90		90
	Additional paid-in capital	541,117	3,545,292	3,545,073
	Statutory reserve			643		4,210		4,210
	Accumulated deficit	(524,051)	(3,433,475)	(3,419,146)
	Accumulated other comprehensive income			1,870		12,254		12,101
	Total Ambow Education Holding Ltd.'s equity		19,714		129,165		143,122
	Non-controlling interests			(337)		(2,210)		(1,968)
	Total equity		19,377		126,955		141,154
	Total liabilities and equity			158,655		1,039,476		1,049,717

• All of the VIE's assets can be used to settle obligations of their primary beneficiary. Liabilities recognized as a result of consolidating these VIEs do not represent additional claims on the Company's general assets.