Earnings release
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August 12 , 2021 ATA Creativity Global Reports 2021 Second Quarter Financial Results Conference Call on Thursday , August 12 , 2021 , at 9 p.m. ET with Accompanying Investor Presentation BEIJING , Aug. 12 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) ATA Creativity Global ( " ACG ” or the “ Company ” , Nasdaq : AACG ) , an international educational services company focused on providing quality learning experiences that cultivate and enhance students ' creativity , today announced preliminary unaudited financial results for the quarter and six months ended June 30 , 2021 ( " Second Quarter 2021 " and " First Half 2021 " , respectively ) . Second Quarter 2021 and First Half 2021 Highlights • During Second Quarter 2021 , student enrollment increased to 1,051 , from 772 in the prior - year period . Of these students , 561 were enrolled in ACG's portfolio training programs . 28,445 credit hours were delivered during Second Quarter 2021 , compared to 27,933 in the prior - year period . • Second Quarter 2021 net revenues increased 39.4 % to RMB36.8 million ( US $ 5.7 million ) , from RMB26.4 million in the prior - year period , primarily driven by increased contributions from portfolio training and other educational services . • Second Quarter 2021 net income attributable to ACG was RMB14.1 million ( US $ 2.2 million ) , compared to net loss attributable to ACG of RMB32.1 million in the prior - year period . • First Half 2021 net revenues increased 25.9 % to RMB74.4 million ( US $ 11.5 million ) , from RMB59.1 million in the prior - year period . • First Half 2021 net loss attributable to ACG improved to RMB4.9 million ( US $ 0.8 million ) , compared to RMB52.5 million in the prior - year period . • RMB91.4 million ( US $ 14.2 million ) in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30 , 2021 Management Commentary Mr. Kevin Ma , Chairman and CEO of ACG , stated , “ We were gratified to see improving trends from the post - pandemic recovery continue into Second Quarter 2021 , during which we achieved over 39 % growth on the top line and improved gross margin primarily driven by increased contributions from our core portfolio training services business . During the period , the Company decided to sell one of its legacy businesses in K - 12 education assessment services , which will enable us to focus our efforts on growing the core business , international education services . We increased our sales and marketing efforts through various promotional activities , which helped improve our enrollment numbers for the period . For Second Quarter 2021 , enrollment in our portfolio training programs increased by 26.4 % to 561 students from the prior - year period . As we have made a conscious effort in recent years to shift more portfolio training students toward project - based programs , credit hours delivered for project - based programs increased over 20 % during the period , though there was only a slight increase in total credit hours delivered . With the increasing shift to project - based programs , we have restructured compensation for our instructors , motivating them to utilize fewer credit hours for completing a project while continuing to maintain the quality of education and support for students . This has contributed to our top line growth when compared with the prior - year period and has also helped to improve service delivery efficiencies . " Outlook Mr. Jun Zhang , President of ACG , stated , " We continue to see tangible results from the work we did to strengthen our leads and sales management platform , as well as our program offerings in response to the pandemic environment , particularly as we are in the heart of the busier summer travel season . As we shared in May , we are not offering study abroad programs this summer given the lingering impact of the pandemic and are instead working closely with our overseas partners in offering alternative programs , such as online bootcamps , internships and other on - site workshop programs . We are also offering new themed domestic travel programs , similar to those we held last summer , which were well received by students . We believe research - based learning services will continue to contribute to our top line in future periods as we look to expand our experiential offerings beyond the summer months . " Mr. Zhang continued , " A few weeks ago , the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued a set of guidelines focused on companies providing after - school academic course tutoring services for students receiving compulsory education ( the “ Guidelines " ) . As ACG focuses on creative arts education and experiential learning , we do not anticipate our business to be materially impacted by these Guidelines . We remain vigilant in maintaining compliance with applicable rules and regulations relating to our operations . ACG remains well capitalized and well positioned to execute on future business opportunities . "