17 Education & Technology Group - Earnings Call - Q4 2024
March 25, 2025
Transcript
Operator (participant)
Good evening and good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by for the 17 Education & Technology Group'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, 17 Education & Technology Group's Investor Relations Manager. Please proceed, Lara.
Lara Zhao (Investor Relations Manager)
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 Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements are based upon management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate 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 U.S. 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 Du (CFO)
Thank you, Lara. Hello everyone. Thank you all for joining us on fourth quarter 2024 and full year earnings call. Before we begin, I would like to note that the financial information and the numbers in this release are presented on a continuing operation basis and 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 RMB 189.2 million for the full year, driven by strategic market expansion and new contract acquisitions. Net revenues for the fourth quarter were RMB 36.6 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 and evidenced by strong digit growth compared to the same quarter last year, bolstered by strong retention rates and multi-year subscription renewals. Through rigorous cost optimization and leveraging economies of scale, 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 regional flagship project delivery and the new contract acquisitions.
During this quarter, our teaching and learning SaaS business for district-level projects continued to make steady progress through successful delivery and new contract acquisitions. Major projects have successfully delivered and contributed significantly to the overall revenue. We have continued to win teaching and learning SaaS projects this quarter, further demonstrating the strong customer stickiness of our offering. Such projects, we expand our services to cover more schools with an increased number of students in both existing districts and new ones. It further demonstrates our capacity to enhance regional education quality and efficiency through scalable, high-quality solutions and plays an exemplary role for other potential clients to adopt our products. Our accelerated growth in school-based subscription model. In the meanwhile, our school-based subscription model has witnessed rapid growth, with triple-digit growth in terms of the number of students newly subscribed year over year.
We have also identified an extensive opportunity pipeline that is expected to continue to expand our school coverage. As the subscription model scales, it increasingly contributes to our overall revenue, reflecting its strategic importance and integral role to our overall strategy. This upward trajectory not only contributes significantly to our revenue but also enhances customer engagement and loyalty. For our customers whose contracts are subject to renewal, more than 90% have decided to continue to subscribe, and some even decide to subscribe with further expanding coverage. Such highly recurring subscriptions, together with the opportunity to upsell additional value-added services, have paved a visible pathway for sustainable and healthy growth. Synergies across business lines. The synergies across regional flagship projects and the school-based subscription model initiatives have driven our product innovations into a virtuous cycle of our business growth.
Flagship district teaching and learning SaaS projects are not only influential among authorities considering projects of similar nature, but also help us build a strong use case for our school-based subscription model among our potential client base. They further generate insights that allow us to continuously enhance our school-based SaaS offering products, while customer feedback drives iterative product upgrades and breakthrough innovations. This integrated approach has bolstered operational agility, positioning us to seize emerging opportunities and deliver scalable solutions. For our product and service offerings, we are committed to enhancing our products and service offerings to improve customer satisfaction. Our focus on innovation and capabilities to deliver premium learning products has driven us to refine our teaching and learning SaaS solutions, ensuring efficiency and high-quality development. During this quarter, we have further advanced our offerings through the following strategic improvements: Unified data ecosystems.
We have advanced cross-domain data integration by leveraging granular insights into a cross-educational ecosystem, including classroom interactions, assignments, and assessments and evaluations. Through standardized data collection, we have built a cohesive multi-scenario data framework that maximizes analytical utility. Scaled product portfolio. Building on this foundation, our data-driven product portfolio now connects teaching applications with resource centers that streamline lesSaaS planning and capture comprehensive instructional data through the following segments: Smart school-based workbook for capturing detailed lesSaaS data, adaptive paper-based systems supporting flexible daily practice with digital tracking capabilities, precision assessment platforms tailored for high-stakes testing and benchmarking, perSaaSalized learning solutions for smart learning paths, individual practice books, and comprehensive evaluation dashboards for competency-based teaching and analytical provided for educators and managers across all scenarios. Enhanced data value. Automated accumulation and intelligent distribution of teaching resources data now addresses diverse learning needs while maintaining long-term data integrity.
Longitudinal analysis ensures academic quality monitoring, while process-oriented data exploration builds holistic student profiles and enables effective competency-based evaluation. By aligning data infrastructure with scalable solutions, we are now empowering educators to make evidence-based decisions while preparing students for future-ready learning business. In this quarter, we have initiated a targeted internal pilot of our AI-powered learning diagnostic agent, leveraging state-of-the-art large language models to analyze student performance data and help teachers improve efficiency in class preparation and homework correction. It generates perSaaSalized explanations for common mistakes and recommended tailored teaching strategies. Initial data shows the tool's potential to streamline instructional workflows and improve learning outcomes by enabling teachers to efficiently interpret and utilize data, thereby enhancing teaching effectiveness and improving the quality of education. The integration of AI marks a significant step forward in optimizing teaching practice and learning outcomes with our offerings.
In terms of distribution channels, we have always intensified our focus on strategic market penetration through channel diversification and customer-centric innovations. By aligning product development with emerging education trends and optimizing distribution networks, we have improved our customer acquisition efficiency. Moreover, our multi-channel marketing initiatives and strategic partnerships have further solidified our presence in high-growth markets, positioning us for sustained development. Now, I will turn the call over to Lara to walk you through our latest financial performance. Thank you.
Lara Zhao (Investor Relations Manager)
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, subject to potential impacts from seaSaaSality and one-off events. As a result of the series of regulations introduced in 2021 and corresponding adjustments to our business model, organization, and workforce, in the fiscal year of 2024, we recorded net revenues of RMB 189.2 million, compared with RMB 171.0 million in 2023, representing a 10.7% increase on a year-over-year basis. Net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 was RMB 36.6 million, compared with RMB 47.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Net loss on a GAAP basis for the fourth quarter of 2024 was RMB 63.7 million, compared with RMB 98.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, representing a decrease of 35.2% year-on-year. The adjusted net loss non-GAAP for the fourth quarter of 2024 was RMB 40.1 million, compared with the adjusted net loss non-GAAP of RMB 81.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 51.0% 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 RMB 9 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, no longer a core offering for us. As of December 31, 2024, we have cash reserves of RMB 359.3 million on our balance sheet. Next, I will go through our fourth quarter financials in greater detail. Net revenues. Net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2024 was RMB 36.6 million, representing a year-over-year decrease of 22.7% from RMB 47.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. This was mainly due to the reduction in net revenues from district-level projects as we prioritized our resources on a school-based project under a subscription model. Two, a higher proportion of contract and SaaS subscription model we signed in the fourth quarter of 2024, which requires a longer period of revenue recognition.
Cost of revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 was RMB 24.3 million, representing a year-over-year decrease of 9.2% from RMB 26.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, which was mainly due to the fewer district-level project deliveries for our teaching and learning SaaS offerings, as a result of the growing proportion of recurring revenue and the subscription model that requires fewer hardware and software deliveries. Gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2024 was RMB 12.3 million, compared with RMB 20.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 33.6%, compared with 43.6% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Total operating expenses. Total operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2024 were RMB 81.4 million, including RMB 15.5 million of share-based compensation expenses, representing a year-over-year decrease of 33.8% from RMB 122.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Net loss from operations.
Loss from operations for the fourth quarter of 2024 was RMB 69.1 million, compared with RMB 102.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Loss from operations as a percentage of net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2024 was -188.8%, compared with -216.0% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2024 was RMB 63.7 million, compared with net loss of RMB 98.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Net loss as a percentage of net revenues was -174.2% in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with -207.9% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Adjusted net loss non-GAAP for the fourth quarter of 2024 was RMB 40.1 million, compared with adjusted net loss non-GAAP of RMB 81.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Adjusted net loss non-GAAP as a percentage of net revenues was negative 109.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with negative 72.8% of adjusted net loss non-GAAP as a percentage of net revenues in the fourth quarter of 2023. Please refer to the table captioned "Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures" to the most comparable GAAP measures at the end of this press release for reconciliation of net loss and the U.S. GAAP to the adjusted net loss non-GAAP. Cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and term deposits were RMB 359.3 million, equals $49.2 million as of December 31, 2024, compared with RMB 476.7 million as of December 31, 2023. As we look to the future, we remain steadfast in our commitment to advancing educational digitalization and enriching learning experiences. We will strengthen our core business operations while exploring new opportunities through dual focus on innovation and sustained growth.
By prioritizing AI-driven solutions, we aim to redefine perSaaSalized education and empower learners, teachers, and educators with valuable insights. With that, that concludes our prepared remarks. Thank you. Operator, we are now ready to begin the Q&A session. Thank you.
Operator (participant)
Thank you so much, dear participants. As a reminder, if you wish to ask a question, please press star, one one on your telephone keypad, and wait for a name to be announced. To withdraw a question, please press star, one one again. Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press star, one one on your telephone keypad, and wait for a name to be announced. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roll, as this will take a few moments. Dear participants, as a reminder, if you wish to ask a question, please press star, one one. 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 (Investor Relations Manager)
Thank you, Operator. In closing, on behalf of 17 EdTech'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 (participant)
This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now all disconnect. Have a nice day.