Earnings Labs

ATA Creativity Global (AACG)

Q3 2019 Earnings Call· Thu, Nov 14, 2019

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good day and welcome, everyone, to the ATA Creativity Global 2019 Third Quarter Financial Results Conference Call, hosted by Carolyne Sohn. My name is Chris, and I'm your event manager today. [Operator Instructions] I would also like to advise all parties that this conference call is being recorded. And now I'd like to pass the call over to Carolyne. Please go ahead.

Carolyne Sohn

Analyst

Thank you, Chris. And hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us. The press release announcing ATA Creativity Global's or ACG's results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019, 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 the company's 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. 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 to be correct. Information about the 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 any investment decision. The company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, changes in market conditions or otherwise, except as required by law. Regarding the disclaimer language, I would also like to refer you to Slide 2 of the conference call presentation for further information. All U.S. dollar amounts in this conference call relating to financial results for the third quarter and 9 months ended September 30, 2019, are converted from RMB using an exchange rate of RMB 7.1477 to USD 1, the noon buying rate as of September 30, 2019. All historical conversions are accurate as of the time reported unless otherwise noted. The company reports its financial results under U.S. GAAP in RMB, and all percentages calculated in the presentation are based on RMB unless otherwise noted. For those of you following along with the accompanying PowerPoint presentation, there is an overview of the company on Slide 3. In addition, we are more than happy to take investor questions through our webcast portal or via e-mail to the company. On today's call, the company's CFO, Ms. Amy Tung, will provide a brief overview of operating and financial highlights for the third quarter of 2019. And then ACG's Chairman and CEO, Mr. Kevin Ma; and newly appointed President, Mr. Jun Zhang, will conclude the remarks with a discussion of Huanqiuyimeng's latest developments, the company's outlook as well as its long-term growth strategy before opening the floor for questions. With that, I'll turn the call over to ACG's CFO, Ms. Amy Tung. Please go ahead, Amy.

Amy Tung

Analyst

Thank you, Carolyne. And welcome, everyone. Good evening to those in America. We appreciate everyone's time. To those of you following along with the presentation, I will begin on Slide 5, which lists reads operating highlights for the third quarter of 2019. On our previous call, we had noted that we had closed the acquisition of 87.46% equity interest in Beijing Huanqiuyimeng Education Consultant Corp., or Huanqiuyimeng, a leading provider of educational services for students in China interested in applying for overseas studies. On October 17, 2019, our company had the pleasure of visiting the NASDAQ MarketSite and ringing the opening bell. That day, the company announced the closing of the acquisition of the remaining 12.54% equity interest in Huanqiuyimeng. As a result, Huanqiuyimeng is now a wholly owned subsidiary of ACG. Details on this acquisition can be found in the Forms 6-K filed by ACG on August 6, 2019, and October 17, 2019. In September, at our Annual General Meeting, shareholders approved the company's name change to ATA Creativity Global. The company's stock ticker symbol also changed to AACG with its American depositary shares commencing trading under the new symbol as of market open on October 17, 2019. We made these changes to signify the ushering in of a new era for the company, beginning with our first major acquisition of Huanqiuyimeng. With the completion of this acquisition, we will begin sharing certain operating metrics with the investment community on a quarterly basis. For the third quarter, it is important to note that these results only include those from Huanqiuyimeng from August 6 through September 30, 2019, as August 6 is the date that ACG assumed control of the company. We have been working closely with Huanqiuyimeng to integrate all of its existing personnel and processes into ACG's operations…

Xiaofeng Ma

Analyst

Thank you, Amy. We are very pleased to have completed the acquisition of Huanqiuyimeng and we -- and are working towards a seamless integration of its personnel and operations into ATA Creativity Global. As Amy noted earlier, our company is embarking on a new beginning, having changed our name and ticker symbol to reflect the direction in which ACG is now headed at. We are fully focused on the growing international education market where China is the largest source of students studying internationally. I'd now like to hand the floor over to Jun Zhang, ACG's President, to provide updates on our strategic growth initiatives for Huanqiuyimeng. Jun will make his remarks in Mandarin, which will be followed by English translation.

Jun Zhang

Analyst

Thank you, Kevin. [Interpreted] Thank you, Kevin. Slide 13 may look familiar to some of you, as we first introduced these initiatives on our last earnings call. We are working to accelerate enrollment at our existing centers in China, implementing technologies and exploring ways in which we can better support our students both in person and remotely. We are also looking to maximize utilization of our existing centers in China while looking at opportunities to selectively open new centers in China and overseas in the future. As Amy mentioned, Huanqiuyimeng's main line of business at the moment is portfolio training. While we aim to expand this program through geographic growth and maximizing capacity at existing centers, we look to enhance our products and business lines by establishing art classes at partnership schools and offering art-themed educational travel and overseas study counseling overseas. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and believe ACG is well positioned to become the largest provider of quality art and creativity education and study abroad experiences in China. We look forward to updating the investment community on our progress as we approach the end of 2019. Kevin?

Xiaofeng Ma

Analyst

Thanks, Jun and Carolyne. In closing. The acquisition of Huanqiuyimeng marks the first major step forward in our long-term growth strategy of becoming a leading international education service provider with a special focus on the rapidly expanding art and creativity education market. With nearly 3,000 offers from overseas institutions extended to Huanqiuyimeng students, we believe they have earned their reputation for excellence in arts and creativity education. Slide 14 outlines our overarching growth strategy. We look forward to lending our expertise to begin serving more students all over China who are passionate about pursuing a future in arts and other creative fields as well as those students who would simply like to learn about and experience other parts of the world. And as we continue working closely with Huanqiuyimeng, we are also exploring other M&A opportunities within the education space that may be a good fit with our business portfolio. With that, operator, let's open it up for questions.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] I have no questions in the queue. Back to you, management.

Xiaofeng Ma

Analyst

Thanks again to all of you for joining us. If anyone has questions for us, please free -- feel free to reach out directly to us or our investor relations firm, The Equity Group. We look forward to speaking with you all during our next quarterly call and, as always, welcome any visitors to our office in Beijing. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Thank you, everyone. That concludes your conference call for today. You may now disconnect. Thank you for joining, and enjoy the rest of your day. Goodbye. [Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]