Earnings Labs

17 Education & Technology Group Inc. (YQ)

Q4 2024 Earnings Call· Tue, Mar 25, 2025

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good evening, and good morning ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by for the 17EdTech's Fourth Quarter 2024 and Full Year Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in listen only mode. After the management's prepared remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. As a reminder, today's conference call is being recorded. I will now turn the meeting over to your host for today's call, Ms. Lara Zhao, 17EdTech's Invest Relations Manager. Please proceed, Lara.

Lara Zhao

Management

Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Our earnings release was distributed earlier today and is available on our IR website. Joining us today are Mr. Michael Du, Director and Chief Financial Officer, and myself, Investor Relations Manager. Michael will walk you through our latest business performance and strategies, and I will discuss our financial performance in more detail. After the prepared remarks, Michael will be available to answer your questions during the Q&A session. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that this conference call contains forward-looking statements as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the U.S. Private Security Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based upon management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relates to events that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the company's control. These risks may cause the company's actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties and factors is included in the company's filings with the US SEC. The company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law. I will now turn the call over to our Director and Chief Financial Officer to review some of our business developments and strategic direction. Michael, please go ahead.

Michael Chao Du

Management

Thank you, Lara. Hello, everyone. Thank you all for joining us on our fourth quarter 2024 and full year earnings call. Before we begin, I would like to note that the financial information and the non-GAAP numbers in this release are presented on a continuing operation basis and are in RMB unless otherwise stated. Let me start with our latest business updates. We achieved strong results with year-over-year top-line growth of 11% to RMB189.2 million for the full year, driven by strategic market expansion and new contract acquisitions. Net revenues for the fourth quarters were RMB36.6 million reflecting a 23% decrease from the same quarter previous year, primarily due to the reduction in net revenues from district-level flagship projects as we prioritize our resources on school-based projects under subscription model, which typically would generate revenues over a longer period. Meanwhile, our SaaS subscription business model maintained an upward trend as evidenced by three-digit growth compared to the same quarter last year, bolstered by strong retention rates and multi-year subscription renewals. Through a rigorous cost optimization and leveraging economy of scales, operating expenses decreased by 34% from the same quarter last year, resulting in a 35% reduction in net loss on a GAAP basis. As we enhance our products and services through AI for improved automation and user experiences, we've received positive feedback and market recognition. Looking ahead, with a strong pipeline of AI-enhanced products and a customer-centric roadmap, we are well positioned to deliver sustainable growth and industry-leading innovations in the future. Now please allow me to go into more details. Our original flagship project delivery and new contract acquisitions. During this quarter, our teaching and learning SaaS business for district level projects continue to make steady progress through successful delivery and new contract acquisitions. Major projects have successfully delivered…

Lara Zhao

Management

Thanks, Michael, and thank you everyone for joining the call. I will now walk you through our financial and operating results. Please note that all financial data I talk about will be presented in RMB terms. I would like to remind you that the quarterly results we present here should be taken with care and reference to our potential future performance are subject to potential impacts from seasonality and one-off events as a result of the series of regulations introduced in 2021 and corresponding adjustment to our business model, organization and workforce. In the fiscal year of 2024, we recorded net revenues of RMB189.2 million compared with RMB171.0 million in 2023, representing a 10.7% of increase on a year-over-year basis. Net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 was RMB36.6 million compared with RMB47.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. Net loss on a GAAP basis for the fourth quarter of 2024 was RMB63.7 million compared with RMB98.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, representing a decrease of RMB35.2 year-on-year. The adjusted net loss non-GAAP for the fourth quarter of 2024 was RMB40.1 million compared with adjusted net loss non-GAAP of RMB81.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of RMB51.0 year-on-year. Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 33.6% compared with 43.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023. The relatively lower gross margin this quarter is mainly attributable to the delivery of an RMB9 million legacy moral education project which did not include the typical components of our teaching and learning SaaS offering and thus had a lower margin dragging down the overall margin. This project was as a result of historical attempt and no longer a core offering for us. As of December 31, 2024, we have cash reserves of RMB359.3 million…

Operator

Operator

Thank you so much. [Operator Instructions] Dear speakers, there are no questions at this time. I would now like to hand the conference over to the management team for any closing remarks.

Lara Zhao

Management

Thank you, operator. In closing, on behalf of 17EdTech's management team, we'd like to thank you for your participation on today's call. If you require any further information, please feel free to reach out to us directly. Thank you for joining us today. This concludes the call.

Operator

Operator

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now all disconnect. Have a nice day. End of Q&A: