Gaotu Techedu Announces Third Quarter of 2023 Unaudited Financial Results and the Upsizing of Share Repurchase Program

BEIJING, Nov. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gaotu Techedu Inc. (NYSE: GOTU) ("Gaotu" or the "Company"), a technology-driven education company and online large-class tutoring service provider in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023.

Third Quarter 2023 Highlights^[1]

• Net revenues were RMB789.4 million, increased by 30.2% from RMB606.2 million in the same period of 2022.
• Gross billings^[2] were RMB639.3 million, increased by 5.3% from RMB607.0 million in the same period of 2022.
• Loss from operations was RMB99.5 million, compared with loss from operations of RMB69.6 million in the same period of 2022.
• Non-GAAP loss from operations was RMB83.6 million, compared with non-GAAP loss from operations of RMB53.0 million in the same period of 2022.
• Net loss was RMB57.7 million, compared with net loss of RMB61.4 million in the same period of 2022.
• Non-GAAP net loss was RMB41.7 million, compared with non-GAAP net loss of RMB44.8 million in the same period of 2022.

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023 Highlights

• Net revenues were RMB2,199.8 million, increased by 17.7% from RMB1,868.6 million in the same period of 2022.
• Gross billings were RMB2,060.6 million, increased by 34.1% from RMB1,536.8 million in the same period of 2022.
• Income from operations increased by 137.1% year-over-year to RMB38.9 million.
• Non-GAAP income from operations was RMB81.6 million, compared with RMB1.1 million in the same period of 2022.
• Net income increased by 295.6% year-over-year to RMB112.4 million.
• Non-GAAP net income was RMB155.0 million, increased by 220.1% from RMB48.4 million in the same period of 2022.

Larry Xiangdong Chen, the Company's founder, Chairman and CEO, commented, "We are currently focusing on defining clear development directions and charting a well-defined path forward, dedicated to building up our core organizational competitiveness and continuously delving into new business initiatives. We will invest in areas that are strategically important for the company's success, continue to refine products and services for non-academic tutoring services, traditional learning services and educational services for college students and adults, and build a resilient organization and a robust pool of talent. We are confident in our ability to deliver high-quality services and efficient operations through our ongoing efforts to improve customer acquisition efficiency, refine our educational products and services offerings, and foster the rapid growth of our talents and organization. We believe these initiatives will put Gaotu on the fast track to growth.

We have strong confidence in our company's future growth and development, therefore our board of directors today authorized the upsizing of our existing share repurchase program to US$80 million worth of ADSs to continuously enhance long-term shareholder value."

Shannon Shen, CFO of the Company, added, "The company maintained growth momentum during the third quarter of 2023. Net revenues increased by 30.2% year-over-year to RMB789 million, while gross billings increased by 5.3% year-over-year to RMB639 million. We maintained a strong cash position, with a total of approximately RMB3.52 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short and long-term investments as of September 30, 2023. This was RMB181 million higher than the same time point of last year, and highlights the ample resources we have to continue driving the development of our business. The company will keep to its original goal of addressing user needs and enhancing learning outcomes in order to create sustainable long-term value for its customers and shareholders."

Financial Results for the Third Quarter of 2023

Net Revenues

Net revenues increased by 30.2% to RMB789.4 million from RMB606.2 million in the third quarter of 2022, which was mainly due to the continuous year-over-year growth of gross billings in the last three quarters as a result of the improvement of customer acquisition efficiency.

Cost of Revenues

Cost of revenues increased by 29.2% to RMB218.1 million from RMB168.8 million in the third quarter of 2022. The increase was mainly due to the growth of labor cost of instructors and tutors, as well as the increase of learning materials cost.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

Gross profit increased by 30.6% to RMB571.3 million from RMB437.4 million in the third quarter of 2022. Gross profit margin increased to 72.4% from 72.2% in the same period of 2022.

Non-GAAP gross profit increased by 30.4% to RMB572.8 million from RMB439.3 million in the third quarter of 2022. Non-GAAP gross profit margin increased to 72.6% from 72.5% in the same period of 2022.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses increased by 32.3% to RMB670.8 million from RMB506.9 million in the third quarter of 2022. The increase was primarily due to the growth of labor expenses, as well as a higher expenditure on marketing and branding activities.

• Selling expenses increased to RMB434.4 million from RMB336.8 million in the third quarter of 2022.
• Research and development expenses increased to RMB130.6 million from RMB106.5 million in the third quarter of 2022.
• General and administrative expenses increased to RMB105.8 million from RMB63.6 million in the third quarter of 2022.

Loss from Operations

Loss from operations was RMB99.5 million, compared with loss from operations of RMB69.6 million in the third quarter of 2022.

Non-GAAP loss from operations was RMB83.6 million, compared with non-GAAP loss from operations of RMB53.0 million in the third quarter of 2022.

Interest Income and Realized Gains from Investments

Interest income and realized gains from investments, on aggregate, were RMB31.7 million, compared with a total of RMB12.1 million in the third quarter of 2022.

Other Income/(Expense)

Other income was RMB15.8 million, compared with other expense of RMB3.4 million in the third quarter of 2022.

Net Loss 

Net loss was RMB57.7 million, compared with net loss of RMB61.4 million in the third quarter of 2022.

Non-GAAP net loss was RMB41.7 million, compared with non-GAAP net loss of RMB44.8 million in the third quarter of 2022.

Cash Flow

Net operating cash outflow in the third quarter of 2023 was RMB209.9 million, which was primarily due to the higher labor expenditure, as well as the increased spending on marketing and branding activities.

Basic and Diluted Net Loss per ADS

Basic and diluted net loss per ADS were both RMB0.22 in the third quarter of 2023.

Non-GAAP basic and diluted net loss per ADS were both RMB0.16 in the third quarter of 2023.

Share Outstanding

As of September 30, 2023, the Company had 173,781,889 ordinary shares outstanding.

Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash, Short-term and Long-term Investments

As of September 30, 2023, the Company had cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term and long-term investments of RMB3,523.4 million in aggregate, compared with a total of RMB3,743.8 million as of December 31, 2022.

Share Repurchase

In November 2022, the Company's board of directors authorized a share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to US$30 million worth of its shares, effective until November 22, 2025. In November 2023, the Company's board of directors authorized modifications to its existing share repurchase program, increasing the aggregate value of shares that may be repurchased from US$30 million to US$80 million, effective until November 22, 2025.

As of November 20, 2023, the Company had cumulatively repurchased approximately 4.2 million ADSs for approximately US$10.8 million under its existing share repurchase program.

In November 2022, Mr. Larry Xiangdong Chen, the Company's founder, Chairman and CEO, announced his plan to personally purchase up to US$20 million of the Company's shares. As of November 20, 2023, Mr. Larry Xiangdong Chen, had cumulatively purchased approximately 0.88 million ADSs under the existing purchase plan.

Appointment of Senior Executives

The Company has appointed Mr. Bin Luo as Senior Vice President and the head of college students and adults business. Mr. Luo will also be responsible for the Company's marketing and branding.

Mr. Bin Luo joined Gaotu in 2014, at the time of the Company's incorporation. Mr. Luo has extensive experience in education, marketing and user growth. Prior to joining Gaotu, Mr. Luo served as a senior technology manager in Baidu. Mr. Luo received his bachelor's degree in computer science and technology and master's degree in signal and information processing, both from Beijing Jiaotong University. Mr. Luo is currently pursuing an EMBA at China Europe International Business School.

The Company has also appointed Ms. Nan Shen, currently Chief Financial Officer of the Company, as Senior Vice President of the Company.

Business Outlook

Based on the Company's current estimates, total net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2023 are expected to be between RMB668 million and RMB688 million, representing an increase of 6.1% to 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. These estimates reflect the Company's current expectations, which are subject to change.

Conference Call

The Company will hold an earnings conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, November 22, 2023 (9:00 PM on Wednesday, November 22, 2023, Beijing/Hong Kong Time). Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:

International: 1-412-317-6061
United States: 1-888-317-6003
Hong Kong: 800-963-976
Mainland China: 400-120-6115
Passcode: 2868224

A telephone replay will be available two hours after the conclusion of the conference call through November 29, 2023. The dial-in details are:

International: 1-412-317-0088
United States: 1-877-344-7529
Passcode: 4454088

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of this conference call will be available at http://ir.gaotu.cn/home.

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 business outlook, as well as the Company's strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with, 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. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. 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 statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company's ability to continue to attract students to enroll in its courses; the Company's ability to continue to recruit, train and retain qualified teachers; the Company's ability to improve the content of its existing course offerings and to develop new courses; the Company's ability to maintain and enhance its brand; the Company's ability to maintain and continue to improve its teaching results; and the Company's ability to compete effectively against its competitors. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's reports filed with, or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no duty to update such information or any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

About Gaotu Techedu Inc.

Gaotu is a technology-driven education company and online large-class tutoring service provider in China. The Company offers learning services and educational content & digitalized learning products. Gaotu adopts an online live large-class format to deliver its courses, which the Company believes is the most effective and scalable model to disseminate scarce high-quality teaching resources to aspiring students in China. Big data analytics permeates every aspect of the Company's business and facilitates the application of the latest technology to improve teaching delivery, student learning experience, and operational efficiency.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company uses gross billings, non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP income (loss) from operations and non-GAAP net income (loss), each a non-GAAP financial measure, in evaluating its operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes.

The Company defines gross billings for a specific period as the total amount of cash received for the sale of course offerings in such period, net of the total amount of refunds in such period. The Company's management uses gross billings as a performance measurement because the Company generally bills its students for the entire course fee at the time of sale of its course offerings and recognizes revenue proportionally as the classes are delivered. For some courses, the Company continues to provide students with 12 months to 36 months access to the pre-recorded audio-video courses after the online live courses are delivered. The Company believes that gross billings provides valuable insight into the sales of its course packages and the performance of its business. As gross billings have material limitations as an analytical metrics and may not be calculated in the same manner by all companies, it may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP income (loss) from operations and non-GAAP net income (loss) exclude share-based compensation expenses. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity by excluding share-based expenses that may not be indicative of its operating performance from a cash perspective. The Company believes that both management and investors benefit from these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing its performance and when planning and forecasting future periods. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management's internal comparisons to the Company's historical performance. A limitation of using non-GAAP measures is that these non-GAAP measures exclude share-based compensation charges that have been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant recurring expense in the Company's business.

The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation from or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned "Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures" set forth at the end of this release.

The accompanying tables have more details on the reconciliations between GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures.

Exchange Rate

The Company's business is primarily conducted in China and a significant majority of revenues generated are denominated in Renminbi ("RMB"). This announcement contains currency conversions of RMB amounts into U.S. dollars ("USD") solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to USD are made at a rate of RMB7.2960 to USD1.0000, the effective noon buying rate for September 29, 2023 as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. No representation is made that the RMB amounts could have been, or could be, converted, realized or settled into USD at that rate on September 29, 2023, or at any other rate.

For further information, please contact:

Gaotu Techedu Inc.
Investor Relations
E-mail: ir@gaotu.cn 

Christensen

In China
Ms. Vivian Wang
Phone: +852-2232-3978
E-mail: gotu@christensencomms.com 

In the US
Ms. Linda Bergkamp
Phone: +1-480-614-3004
Email: linda.bergkamp@christensencomms.com