Earnings Labs

ATA Creativity Global (AACG)

Q4 2022 Earnings Call· Sat, Apr 1, 2023

$1.20

+0.00%

Key Takeaways · AI generated
AI summary not yet generated for this transcript. Generation in progress for older transcripts; check back soon, or browse the full transcript below.
Transcript

Operator

Operator

Greetings. Welcome to ATA Creativity Global’s Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2022 Financial Results. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to Alice of the Equity Group. Thank you. You may begin.

Alice Zhang

Analyst

Thank you, operator, and hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us. The press release announcing ATA Creativity Global’s or ACG’s results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, is available at the IR section of the company’s website at www.atai.net.cn. As part of this conference call, the company has an accompanying slide presentation available on its website. A replay of this broadcast will also be made available at ACG’s website for the next 90 days. Before we get started, I would like to remind everyone that this conference call and any accompanying information discussed herein contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as anticipate, believe, could, estimate, expect, forecast, future, intend, look forward to, outlook, plans, should, will, and similar terms and include, among other things, statements regarding ACG’s future growth and results of operations, ACG’s plans for mergers and acquisitions generally, ACG’s growth strategy, anticipated growth prospects and subsequent business activities, market demand for and market acceptance and competitiveness of ACG’s portfolio training program and other education services, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ACG and its operations, and ACG’s plan and anticipated benefits of the measures implemented in response to the COV19 pandemic. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable as of today, those statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ dramatically from those projected. There can be no assurance that those expectations will prove correct. Information about risks associated with investing in ACG is included in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we encourage you to review before making an investment decision.…

Ruobai Sima

Analyst

Thank you, Alice, and welcome, everyone. Good evening to those in America. We appreciate everyone’s time. Certainly, our students remain our top priority in 2022, and we were found of the continued resilience of both our students and teaching staff throughout the year, given unpredictable ongoing pandemic environment, despite our core portfolio training business being impacted by periodic lockdown in some of our key cities in response to local COVID-19 resurgence. We were pleased to see stable demand of those programs and increased demand for research-based learning programs, overseas study counseling and other educational services. During fourth quarter 2022, we achieved an 8.2% increase in total revenue to RMB78.5 million, which contributed to the positive bottom line result for the period. Net income attributable to ACG of RMB2 million, total revenue saw a modest 2.3% increase for full year 2022, which was primarily due to increased contributions from other educational services and portfolio training services, excluding the onetime RMB33.5 million in investment gain from the disposal of our K-12 business recognized in fiscal year 2021, with significantly narrowed losses year-over-year. Total student enrollment for fourth quarter 2022 was 908 compared to 1,052 in the prior year period. Keep in mind, the 908, the number of enrolled students in the foreign language training service, which primarily operated under an entity that ACG has consolidated those in third quarter ‘22. Excluding these 167 students in the prior year period, total enrollment increased year-over-year. Of the 908 students, 574 were enrolled in our portfolio training program compared to 569 students in the prior year period. We were pleased to see a continued shift in credit hours delivered from time-based programs to project-based programs. This project-based credit hours increased 31.9% year-over-year, accounting for nearly two-thirds of total credit hours delivered during the quarter. We…

Jun Zhang

Analyst

Thank you, Mr. Sima. Our students have demonstrated a great deal of dedication and determination in the pursuit of art study. And as the trusted corner along this journey, ACG has strived to ensure that our offerings remain first grade, educational and relevant to real-world experience. In the first quarter of 2023, one of our future programs is the Open Hack Project designed for Shanghai Fashion Week 2023. During this 5-day long project, participating students will create branding proposals, start a fashion look book from scratch and have an opportunity to interview fashion icons and influencers. Students could also win VIP access to Shanghai Fashion Week 2023, which took place this month. Additionally, as this project is designed for students who are looking to add highlights to their resume, not only would gain first-hand experience, working as part of a professional Fashion Week team, but also complete the project instructions letters and internship certificates. ACG initially introduced online research-based learning programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. We were able to do so primarily, thanks to a strong partnership base with international education providers, including our colleges and universities. And these programs have been well received by participating students. As international travel was now feasible for many students over the past couple of years, we developed programs to encourage students to explore cultural heritage by visiting and cultural heritage sites in China. Intangible cultural heritage is a term used by UNESCO to describe culture beyond monuments and collections of objects, as described by UNESCO intangible cultural heritage also includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and pass it on to our descendants, such as our traditions, performing arts, social practices, videos, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe and all skills to produce traditional crafts. We understand…

Ruobai Sima

Analyst

Thanks, Zhang. In closing, we are excited about the opportunities ahead of us in 2023. We remain optimistic about taking the lead in race on the runway of China’s creative art education industry, and we will continue striving to become an international leader. We cannot wait to see what our students will achieve in 2023 and are committed to be the provider of new experience, valuable guidance as well as the coach along their arts study journey. With that, operator, that open up for questions.

Operator

Operator

This will conclude our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Sima for closing comments.

Ruobai Sima

Analyst

Thanks again to all of you for joining us. If anyone has questions for us, please feel free to reach out directly to our investor relations from the equity group. We are always available to speak to investors and look forward to speaking with you all during our next quarterly call. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. This will conclude today’s conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time and thank you for your participation.