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TSXV: CSTR

TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2020 /CNW/ – CryptoStar Corp. (TSXV: CSTR) (“CryptoStar” or the “Company“), a cryptocurrency mining and data centre operator, today announced that it has received subscriptions for a total of 4,000,000 units (“Units“) of the Company to raise $200,000 at a price of $0.05 per Unit by way of a non-brokered private placement (the “Offering“).

Each Unit will consist of one common share of CryptoStar (a “Common Share“) and one common share purchase warrant of CryptoStar (a “Warrant“). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one Common Share at a price of CAD $0.075 per Common Share for a period of 18 months following the closing date of the Offering.

The Offering is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. The securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a four-month hold period, in accordance with applicable securities laws.

CryptoStar intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for business operations and expansion of its business, and for general working capital purposes. CryptoStar may pay a finder’s fee to eligible parties in connection with the Offering, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and compliance with applicable securities laws.

About CryptoStar Corp.:

CryptoStar has cryptocurrency mining operations with data centres located in the U.S.A. and Canada. CryptoStar is currently dedicated to becoming one of the lowest cost cryptocurrency producers in North America and a major supplier of GPU and ASIC miners and mining hardware & hosting packages worldwide.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as, “expects”, “is expected”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements include those relating to the completion of the Offering and the terms thereof, the use of net proceeds from the Offering and the payment of a finder’s fee. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management in light of management’s experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, including assumptions related to the ability of the Company to complete the Offering on commercially reasonable terms, the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange of the Offering, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances. Actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from that expressed in, or implied by, any forward-looking statements in this press release, and, accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements and they are not guarantees of future results. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual future results or anticipated events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward looking statements. Except as required by law, CryptoStar undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE CryptoStar Corp.

TSXV: CSTR

TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2020 /CNW/ – CryptoStar Corp. (TSXV: CSTR) (“CryptoStar” or the “Company“), a cryptocurrency mining and data centre operator, today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September, 2020. For the full condensed consolidated interim financial statements and management discussion and analysis for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020, please visit SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All values in this news release are in United States Dollars unless otherwise specified.

“CryptoStar’s prudent decision to restructure operations has continued to strengthen the Company. Our long term expansion plans into low cost energy regions in North America continued throughout the second quarter, solidifying CryptoStar’s objective to become one of the lowest cost Bitcoin producers in North America.” said David Jellins, Chief Executive Officer of CryptoStar.

“The Company has continued its transition from a self-mining, Bitcoin only, company to a one-stop shop for cryptocurrency mining customers and the inherent risks and exposure associated with self-mining Bitcoin only have been significantly reduced. Future growth will be driven through mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in addition to offering high quality GPU and ASIC miners, logistics and shipping and hosting solutions for customers worldwide at low power rate data centres in China, Canada and other data centres around the world through our soon to be launched Mining Hardware & Hosting Package ecommerce platform.” added Mr. Jellins.

Q3 2020 Highlights

• On July 8, 2020, the Company announced that it had received subscriptions for a total of 5,000,000 units (“Units”) of the Company to raise $250,000 at a price of $0.05 per Unit by way of a non-brokered private placement (the “Offering”). Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (a “Common Share”) and one half of a common share purchase warrant of the Company (each whole warrant, a “Warrant”). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one Common Share at a price of CAD $0.075 per Common Share for a period of 12 months following the closing date of the Offering.
• On July 16, 2020, the Company announced that it had closed the private placement announced on July 8, 2020, consisting of the issuance of 5,000,000 units (“Units”) of the Company at a price of $0.05 per Unit by way of a non-brokered private placement.
• On August 14, 2020, the Company announced the appointment of Messrs. Warren Lorenz and Aly Madhavji to the Company’s Board of Directors. The Company also announced the resignation from the Board of Brendan Cahill, Adam Kline and James Merkur. Concurrent with the appointments of Messrs. Lorenz and Madhavji, the Company granted each 600,000 incentive stock options. Each stock option will allow the holder thereof to purchase a common share of CryptoStar at a price of $0.05, with an expiry of ten years.
• On August 17, 2020, the Company announced it had signed an agreement with a large Bitcoin mining customer based in China.

Highlights of the Agreement:

1. CryptoStar to provide 2.5 MW of mining capacity at its first Alberta site to the Customer and the Customer’s clients within 60 days.
2. The Customer and the Customer’s clients will provide all of the latest generation Bitcoin miners under a mining profit share arrangement.

The project has been delayed by restrictions relating to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (see COVID-19 note below). The Company anticipates that this will be the first of many projects in the future at our Alberta Location.

• On September 10, 2020, the Company announced that it had received subscriptions for a total of 5,000,000 units (“Units”) of the Company to raise $250,000 at a price of $0.05 per Unit by way of a non-brokered private placement (the “Offering”). Each Unit will consist of one common share of CryptoStar (a “Common Share”) and one common share purchase warrant of CryptoStar (a “Warrant”). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one Common Share at a price of CAD $0.075 per Common Share for a period of 18 months following the closing date of the Offering.
• On September 21, 2020, the Company announced it had signed a consulting agreement (the “Agreement”) with a consultant (the “Consultant”) based in China effective September 18, 2020 and declared that the Company is currently dedicated to becoming one of the lowest cost cryptocurrency producers in North America and a major supplier of GPU and ASIC miners worldwide.

Highlights of the Agreement:

1. The Consultant will provide services in the role of Cryptostar Corp. Business Development Manager (Asia).
2. The Consultant and the Consultant’s team will source and acquire high quality GPUs and miner components from manufacturers and will supervise quality control, logistics and delivery of turnkey GPU miners to customers under a new brand.
3. The Consultant and the Consultant’s team will also source and acquire high quality ASIC miners from well-known manufacturers and other sources for resale and delivery to customers.
4. It is anticipated that the Company will begin taking deposits for orders within 30 days with delivery to be scheduled within 90 days.
5. The Consultant will be compensated under a profit share arrangement.
6. The Consultant may elect to receive net profits either in cash or units of the Company subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Benefits of the Agreement:

1. The Company will accept deposits for both GPU and ASIC miners (in bulk orders only) for delivery worldwide.
2. The Company’s award-winning data centre facilities in Utah, USA will be used as a showcase for the new GPU miner business.
3. The Company will be able to provide a one-stop shop for high quality GPU and ASIC miners, logistics and shipping and hosting solutions for customers worldwide at low power rate data centres in China, Canada and other data centres around the world.
4. This partnership represents CryptoStar’s entry into a multi-billion dollar industry. GPU miners are capable of mining cryptocurrencies like Ethereum’s ether (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), ZCash (ZEC), Monero (XMR) and many others. The demand for both GPU and ASIC miners is extremely high in the current market and the Company anticipates being able to provide high-quality, attractively priced GPU and ASIC miners together with comprehensive solutions to customers.

• On September 29, 2020, the Company announced that Mr. Mason M. Darabi had been appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective immediately. Mr. Darabi replaces Jing Peng as Chief Financial Officer. In connection with Mr. Darabi’s appointment as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, the Company agreed to issue common shares to Tandem Innovation Group Inc. (“Tandem”) in partial satisfaction of its monthly consulting fee.
• The Company’s first facility in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada continued to mine Bitcoin with the first new generation miners commissioned on March 30, 2020. Tier 1 has applied for NL Hydro power permits in excess of 20 MW to facilitate CryptoStar’s long term expansion plans in Newfoundland and Labrador under the Agreement and is awaiting approvals of these permits. The approval of these permit applications has been delayed by restrictions relating to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (see COVID-19 note below). Tier 1 is actively pursuing the finalization and allocation of a 16.7MW/20MW power permit. Tier 1 is also searching for additional sites with allocated power that could be rented and used by the Company. The Company has not yet received the power permit at the date of issuance of the consolidated financial statements.
• During the Company’s relocation to new lower power cost locations in Canada, the Company’s corporate overhead during Q3, 2020 was reduced by 63% compared to Q3, 2019. Direct operating and maintenance costs during Q3, 2020 were reduced by 97% compared to Q2, 2019.

Selected Q3 Information

* The Company has continued its transition from a self-mining, Bitcoin only, company to a one-stop shop for cryptocurrency mining customers and the inherent risks and exposure associated with self-mining Bitcoin only have been significantly reduced. Future growth will be driven through mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in addition to offering high quality GPU and ASIC miners, logistics and shipping and hosting solutions for customers worldwide at low power rate data centres in China, Canada and other data centres around the world through our soon-to-be launched GPU and ASIC Mining Hardware & Hosting Package ecommerce platform.

About CryptoStar Corp.:

CryptoStar has cryptocurrency mining operations with data centres located in the U.S.A. and Canada. CryptoStar is currently dedicated to becoming one of the lowest cost cryptocurrency producers in North America and a major supplier of GPU and ASIC miners and mining hardware & hosting packages worldwide.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Non-GAAP Measures

This press release presents certain non-GAAP (“GAAP” refers to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) financial measures to assist readers in understanding the Company’s performance. These non-GAAP measures do not have any standardized meaning and therefore are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Management uses these non-GAAP measures to supplement the analysis and evaluation of operating performance.

The following terms are used, which are not found in the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada Handbook and do not have a standardized meaning under GAAP.

• “EBITDA” (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) represents net income or loss excluding net finance income or expense, income tax or recovery, depreciation, and amortization.
• “Adjusted EBITDA” represents EBITDA adjusted to exclude share-based compensation, fair value loss or gain on remeasurement of digital assets, and costs associated with one-time transactions (such as listing fees).
• “Mining profit/loss” represents gross profit (revenue less cost of revenue), excluding depreciation.

SOURCE CryptoStar Corp.

HOUSTON, Nov. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) announced today that Byron Bright, President, Government Solutions, and Alison Vasquez, Vice President, Investor Relations, will present at Credit Suisse’s 8^th Annual Virtual Industrials Conference on Wednesday, December 2, 2020 at 8:50 am EST.

Interested investors may listen to the live webcast at http://investors.kbr.com. The investor presentation which will be used for this conference as well as other investor communications may be found on the investor relations section of KBR.com.

About KBR

KBR is a global provider of differentiated professional services and solutions across the asset and program life cycle within the government and technology sectors. KBR employs approximately 28,000 people worldwide with customers in more than 80 countries and operations in 40 countries.

KBR is proud to work with its customers across the globe to provide technology, value-added services, and long- term operations and maintenance services to ensure consistent delivery with predictable results. At KBR, We Deliver.

Visit www.kbr.com  

 

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SOURCE KBR, Inc.

CINCINNATI, Nov. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) announced today that associates across 14 divisions have ratified an agreement with 20 local unions of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) to withdraw from the UFCW International Union-Industry Pension Fund (“National Fund”). A tentative agreement was announced on July 21, 2020.

“We are pleased to reach an agreement that improves the security and stability of future benefits for our associates and modernizes our retirement benefits offering,” said Gary Millerchip, Kroger’s chief financial officer. “In an environment where pensions are faced with funding challenges, our strong financial position permits us to invest in our associates.”

This agreement has been approved by Kroger, the National Fund Board of Trustees, the UFCW local unions and associates. The Stop and Shop Supermarket Company LLC and Albertsons Companies, Inc. have each entered into separate agreements with the UFCW local unions to withdraw from the National Fund. Together, Kroger, Stop & Shop and the UFCW have created the UFCW and Employer’s Variable Annuity Pension Plan for benefits for future service.

Kroger will pay the National Fund withdrawal liability of $962 million, on a pre-tax basis, to fulfill obligations for past service for associates and retirees in the National Fund. Kroger will also make a $27 million contribution to a transition reserve in the new variable annuity pension plan. On an after-tax basis, the withdrawal liability and contribution to the transition reserve total approximately $760 million. This withdrawal liability will be satisfied by installment payments to the National Fund over the next three years.

“Kroger’s investment of nearly $1 billion to help secure and stabilize pensions for our associates is the most recent of several meaningful commitments we’ve made over the last decade to address the funding challenges facing associate pension plans,” said Tim Massa, senior vice president and chief people officer. “This pension investment is in addition to the more than $1 billion we have invested since March to both reward our associates and to safeguard them and our customers through the implementation of dozens of COVID-19 safety measures. Additionally, as part of Restock Kroger announced in 2017, over the period of 2018 to 2020 Kroger will have invested an incremental $800 million in associate wage increases.”

The agreement also establishes a pension benefit formula for the Kroger organization’s contributions to the new plan through June 2028 – at which time it is subject to negotiation with the union. This effectively fixes the terms of the Kroger family of companies’ collectively bargained pension obligation with these 20 UFCW local unions for the next eight years, thereby addressing Kroger’s projected future pension costs and minimizing future exposure to market risk associated with the current plan.

As a result of this agreement, the company will incur a charge to net earnings during the fourth quarter of 2020. The charge to net earnings is estimated to be approximately $0.98 per diluted share on a GAAP basis. This does not affect adjusted earnings per diluted share results for 2020, which are provided on a basis that excludes adjustment items such as this contribution.

Capital Allocation Strategy
The Company continues to generate strong free cash flow and remains committed to investing in the business to drive profitable growth, maintaining its current investment grade debt rating, and returning excess free cash flow to shareholders via share repurchase and a growing dividend over time.

About Kroger
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit®. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless shopping experience under a variety of banner names. We are committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements about the future performance of the company. These statements are based on management’s assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. These statements are indicated by words such as “commitment,” “continue,” “will,” “expects,” “achieves,” and “would” and include statements related to the payment and timing of payment in satisfaction of the withdrawal liability and related contributions, the security and stability of future pension benefits, and estimated charges to net earnings, as well as other statements regarding future events. The timing of our payments in satisfaction of our withdrawal liability to the National Fund will be affected by our ability to generate amounts through free cash flow or other sources of funds, including borrowings. The extent to which the Company’s withdrawal from the National Fund and its participation in a new variable annuity pension plan will reduce future pension costs, lower future financial risk and stabilize future retirement related benefit costs will be affected primarily by the effectiveness of the new variable annuity pension plan and the cost of funding the Company’s withdrawal from  the National Fund. Our expectation that our annual pension costs will be lower than the projected costs, our future financial risk will be lowered, and that pension benefits to covered associates will be more secure could prove inaccurate if the investment performance of the National Fund following our withdrawal is better than projected. Our belief that contributions and related expense would continue to grow in 2020 and beyond absent this agreement is primarily based on actuarial assumptions and anticipated investment performance of assets in the National Fund.

Kroger’s ability to achieve sales, earnings, incremental FIFO operating profit, and adjusted free cash flow goals may be affected by: COVID-19 related factors, risks and challenges, including among others, the length of time that the pandemic continues, the temporary inability of customers to shop due to illness, quarantine, or other travel restrictions or financial hardship, shifts in demand away from discretionary or higher priced products to lower priced products, or stockpiling or similar pantry-filling activities, reduced workforces which may be caused by, but not limited to, the temporary inability of the workforce to work due to illness, quarantine, or government mandates,  temporary store closures due to reduced workforces or government mandates, or the availability or efficacy of a vaccine; labor negotiations or disputes; changes in the types and numbers of businesses that compete with Kroger; pricing and promotional activities of existing and new competitors, including non-traditional competitors, and the aggressiveness of that competition; Kroger’s response to these actions; the state of the economy, including interest rates, the inflationary and deflationary trends in certain commodities, changes in tariffs, and the unemployment rate; the effect that fuel costs have on consumer spending; volatility of fuel margins; changes in government-funded benefit programs and the extent and effectiveness of any COVID-19 stimulus packages; manufacturing commodity costs; diesel fuel costs related to Kroger’s logistics operations; trends in consumer spending; the extent to which Kroger’s customers exercise caution in their purchasing in response to economic conditions; the uncertainty of economic growth or recession; changes in inflation or deflation in product and operating costs; stock repurchases; Kroger’s ability to retain pharmacy sales from third party payors; consolidation in the healthcare industry, including pharmacy benefit managers; Kroger’s ability to negotiate modifications to multi-employer pension plans; natural disasters or adverse weather conditions; the effect of public health crises or other significant catastrophic events, including the coronavirus; the potential costs and risks associated with potential cyber-attacks or data security breaches; the success of Kroger’s future growth plans; the ability to execute on Restock Kroger; and the successful integration of merged companies and new partnerships. Our ability to achieve these goals may also be affected by our ability to manage the factors identified above. Our ability to execute our financial strategy may be affected by our ability to generate cash flow.

These forward-looking statements are subject to uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. We assume no obligation to update the information contained herein. Please refer to Kroger’s reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a further discussion of these risks and uncertainties.

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SOURCE The Kroger Co.

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE: AXTA) today announced that Jeremy Rohen is joining Axalta as Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, effective January 18, 2021, and will report to Axalta’s President and CEO, Robert W. Bryant.

“Jeremy will lead our enterprise strategy development and mergers and acquisitions function globally and work with our global business leaders to identify potential partnerships, acquisitions and alternative strategies to drive Axalta’s future growth,” said Bryant.  “Jeremy is a world-class M&A leader with experience in transformative deals and has a strong background in strategy development. He will work closely with our business leadership to accelerate growth and will be a great addition to our leadership team.”

Rohen will join Axalta after more than 10 years with W. R. Grace & Co., a leading global specialty chemical company, where he leads corporate development, M&A and investor relations. Prior to Grace, Rohen spent 10 years at Seale & Associates, a Washington, D.C. investment bank, where he managed acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, joint ventures and growth strategy projects. He earned both a bachelor’s degree in Finance and a master’s degree in Taxation from The George Washington University School of Business.

“I am thrilled to join Axalta at this point in the company’s evolution and am excited to play a key role in the realization of Axalta’s ambitious growth plans,” said Rohen.

About Axalta Coating Systems

Axalta is a global leader in the coatings industry, providing customers with innovative, colorful, beautiful and sustainable coatings solutions. From light vehicles, commercial vehicles and refinish applications to electric motors, building facades and other industrial applications, our coatings are designed to prevent corrosion, increase productivity and enhance durability. With more than 150 years of experience in the coatings industry, the global team at Axalta continues to find ways to serve our more than 100,000 customers in over 130 countries better every day with the finest coatings, application systems and technology. For more information, visit axalta.com and follow us @axalta on Twitter.

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SOURCE Axalta Coating Systems Ltd.

NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Neuberger Berman MLP and Energy Income Fund Inc. (NYSE American: NML) (the “Fund”) has announced a distribution declaration of $0.01345 per share of common stock. The distribution announced today is payable on December 31, 2020, has a record date of December 15, 2020 and has an ex-date of December 14, 2020.

Due to recent market volatility and the associated changes that have and may continue to occur with master limited partnerships (“MLPs”) and other energy companies, as well as the impact that these changes continue to have on closed-end funds that invest in MLPs, the Fund will continue to evaluate the stability and appropriateness of its distribution rate in the months ahead. The Fund currently intends to make regular monthly cash distributions to holders of its common stock at a fixed rate per share, to be determined based on the projected net rate of return of the Fund’s investments as well as other factors, subject to ongoing review and adjustment from time to time.  The Fund currently intends to pay its regular monthly distributions out of its distributable cash flow, which generally consists of (1) cash and paid-in-kind distributions from MLPs or their affiliates, dividends from common stocks, interest from debt instruments and income from other investments held by the Fund less (2) current or accrued operating expenses, including leverage costs, if any, and taxes on its taxable income.  

The Fund expects that a portion of its distributions to stockholders will constitute a non-taxable return of capital. A “return of capital” is a distribution by the Fund that exceeds the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits and which represents a return of a common stockholder’s original investment, and should not be confused with a dividend. To the extent the Fund pays a return of capital, a common stockholder’s basis in Fund shares will be reduced, which will increase a capital gain or reduce a capital loss upon sale of those shares. There is no assurance that the Fund will always be able to pay distributions of a particular size, or that a distribution will consist solely of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits. 

In compliance with Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, a notice would be provided for any distribution that does not consist solely of income. The notice would be for informational purposes and not for tax reporting purposes, and would disclose, among other things, estimated portions of the distribution, if any, consisting of net investment income, capital gains and return of capital. The final determination of the source and tax characteristics of all distributions paid in 2020 will be made after the end of the year.

The Fund is subject to federal income tax on its taxable income, unlike most investment companies. Any taxes paid by the Fund will reduce the amount available to pay distributions to stockholders, and therefore investors in the Fund will likely receive lower distributions than if they invested directly in MLPs.

About Neuberger Berman
Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategies—including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge funds—on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 24 countries, Neuberger Berman’s diverse team has over 2,300 professionals. For six consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). In 2020, the PRI named Neuberger Berman a Leader, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. The PRI also awarded Neuberger Berman an A+ in every eligible category for our approach to ESG integration across asset classes. The firm manages $374 billion in client assets as of September 30, 2020. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

Statements made in this release that look forward in time involve risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the adverse effect from a decline in the securities markets or a decline in the Fund’s performance, a general downturn in the economy, competition from other closed end investment companies, changes in government policy or regulation, inability of the Fund’s investment adviser to attract or retain key employees, inability of the Fund to implement its investment strategy, inability of the Fund to manage rapid expansion and unforeseen costs and other effects related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations.

Contact:
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC                                                    
Investor Information
(877) 461-1899

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SOURCE Neuberger Berman

NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Neuberger Berman High Yield Strategies Fund Inc. (NYSE American: NHS) (the “Fund”) has announced a distribution declaration of $0.0905 per share of common stock. The distribution announced today is payable on December 31, 2020, has a record date of December 15, 2020 and has an ex-date of December 14, 2020.

Under its level distribution policy, the Fund anticipates that it will make regular monthly distributions, subject to market conditions, of $0.0905 per share of common stock, unless further action is taken to determine another amount.  The Fund’s ability to maintain its current distribution will depend on a number of factors, including the stability of income received from its investments, the cost of leverage and the level of other Fund expenses. There is no assurance that the Fund will always be able to pay a distribution of any particular amount or that a distribution will consist only of net investment income.

Due to an effort to maintain a stable distribution amount, the distribution announced today, as well as future distributions, may consist of net investment income, realized capital gains and return of capital. In compliance with Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, a notice would be provided for any distribution that does not consist solely of net investment income. The notice would be for informational purposes and not for tax reporting purposes, and would disclose, among other things, estimated portions of the distribution, if any, consisting of net investment income, capital gains and return of capital. The final determination of the source and tax characteristics of all distributions paid in 2020 will be made after the end of the year.

About Neuberger Berman
Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategies—including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge funds—on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 24 countries, Neuberger Berman’s diverse team has over 2,300 professionals. For six consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). In 2020, the PRI named Neuberger Berman a Leader, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. The PRI also awarded Neuberger Berman an A+ in every eligible category for our approach to ESG integration across asset classes. The firm manages $374 billion in client assets as of September 30, 2020. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

Statements made in this release that look forward in time involve risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the adverse effect from a decline in the securities markets or a decline in the Fund’s performance, a general downturn in the economy, competition from other closed end investment companies, changes in government policy or regulation, inability of the Fund’s investment adviser to attract or retain key employees, inability of the Fund to implement its investment strategy, inability of the Fund to manage rapid expansion and unforeseen costs and other effects related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations.

Contact:
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC                                                 
Investor Information
(877) 461-1899

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SOURCE Neuberger Berman

WUHAN, China, Nov. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Dunxin Financial Holdings Limited (“Dunxin” or the “Company” NYSE American: DXF), a licensed microfinance lender serving individuals and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Hubei Province, China, today announced that the Company signed an Intentional Cooperation Agreement with Baite Biological Group Co., Ltd. The Company and Baite Biological Group plan to carry out cooperation in market expansion and production research and development in three aspects: (1) In Vitro Diagnostic industry, (2) hospital intelligent laboratory, (3) production and manufacturing of high-end medical devices.

Baite Biological Group Co., Ltd. is a research, production, trade in one of the digital laboratory medical analysis instruments and in vitro diagnostic reagent enterprises, is a national high-tech enterprises in the People’s Republic of China.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in 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,” “target,” “going forward,” “outlook” and similar statements. Such statements are based upon management’s current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law.

About Dunxin Financial Holdings Limited

Dunxin Financial Holdings Limited (“DXF”) is one of the leading licensed microfinance lenders in Hubei Province, China. We have been granted a microfinance license by the Financial Affairs Office of the Hubei Provincial People’s Government to provide loans to individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises. We were awarded as the Vice President Unit of China Micro-credit Companies Association under the China Banking Regulatory Commission in January 2017 and the President Unit of Hubei Micro-credit Company Association in December 2017. In 2016, we were recognized as a “National Excellent Microfinance Company” by China Micro-credit Companies Association. We have been named one of the “Top 100 Most Competitive Microfinance Companies in China” by China Microfinance Institution Association for four consecutive years since 2013, an “AA- Credit Rating Enterprise” by China Credit Management Co., Ltd in August 2017, and a “Top 10 Private Enterprises in Wuchang District, Wuhan City” by the People’s Government of Wuchang District in July 2017. The Group has a strong capital base and professional credit business experience in microfinance industry.

For additional information, please contact: +86-1365 5939 932.

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SOURCE Dunxin Financial Holdings Limited

NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Neuberger Berman Real Estate Securities Income Fund Inc. (NYSE American: NRO) (the “Fund”) has announced a distribution declaration of $0.04 per share of common stock. The distribution announced today is payable on December 31, 2020, has a record date of December 15, 2020 and has an ex-date of December 14, 2020.

Under its level distribution policy, the Fund anticipates that it will make regular monthly distributions, subject to market conditions, of $0.04 per share of common stock, unless further action is taken to determine another amount. There is no assurance that the Fund will always be able to pay a distribution of any particular amount, or that a distribution will consist of only net investment income. The Fund’s ability to maintain its current distribution rate will depend on a number of factors, including the amount and stability of income received from its investments, availability of capital gains, the amount of leverage employed by the Fund, the cost of leverage and the level of other Fund expenses.

The distribution announced today, as well as future distributions, may consist of net investment income, realized capital gains and return of capital. In compliance with Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, a notice would be provided for any distribution that does not consist solely of net investment income. The notice would be for informational purposes and not for tax reporting purposes, and would disclose, among other things, estimated portions of the distribution, if any, consisting of net investment income, capital gains and return of capital. The final determination of the source and tax characteristics of all distributions paid in 2020 will be made after the end of the year.

About Neuberger Berman
Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategies—including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge funds—on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 24 countries, Neuberger Berman’s diverse team has over 2,300 professionals. For six consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). In 2020, the PRI named Neuberger Berman a Leader, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. The PRI also awarded Neuberger Berman an A+ in every eligible category for our approach to ESG integration across asset classes. The firm manages $374 billion in client assets as of September 30, 2020. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

Statements made in this release that look forward in time involve risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the adverse effect from a decline in the securities markets or a decline in the Fund’s performance, a general downturn in the economy, competition from other closed end investment companies, changes in government policy or regulation, inability of the Fund’s investment adviser to attract or retain key employees, inability of the Fund to implement its investment strategy, inability of the Fund to manage rapid expansion and unforeseen costs and other effects related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations.

Contact:  
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC
Investor Information
(877) 461-1899

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SOURCE Neuberger Berman

HANGZHOU, China, Nov. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Hailiang Education Group Inc. (Nasdaq: HLG) (“Hailiang Education”, the “Company” or “we”), an education and management service provider of primary, middle, and high schools in China, announced its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 ended September 30, 2020.

“Hailiang Education has achieved remarkable results through the continual improvement of brand awareness and the development of innovation strategies, albeit the COVID-19 pandemic still has temporary impact on part of our business. We will continue to build a one-stop comprehensive service platform for primary, middle and high school education, in order to provide students with high-quality education and management services and to vigorously develop additional education services, such as online and onsite educational training services, study trip services and overseas study services. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, we recorded revenue of RMB298.5 million (US$44.0 million), increased by 29.8% from RMB229.9 million for the same period of last year. We generated revenue of RMB263.1 million (US$38.8 Million) from primary, middle and high school educational services, an increase of 36.1% compared to the same period of last year. The net profit attributable to the Company’s shareholders was RMB26.9 million (US$4.0 million), compared with the net loss attributable to the Company’s shareholders of RMB15.3 million for the same period of last year. The net profit attributable to the Company’s shareholders margin was 9.0%, and the net loss attributable to the Company’s shareholders margin was 6.7% for the same period of last year, demonstrating Hailiang Education’s significant profitability,” said Dr. Junwei Chen, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hailiang Education.

Dr. Chen said, “The first quarter of fiscal year 2021 was a critical period for the new school year enrollment. As of September 30, 2020, the number of students enrolled at our affiliated schools reached 26,869, an increase of about 10.8% year-on-year. The total student enrollment of 72,846 in our affiliated and managed schools increased by approximately 9.5% year-on-year. We added three affiliated schools to our school network, namely Lanzhou Hailiang Experimental School, Hailiang Overseas Chinese School, and Wuhu Hailiang Experimental School, all of which started their first year of enrollment for the 2020-2021 school year in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021. As of September 30, 2020, there were 568, 828 and 409 students enrolled in these three schools, respectively. The Company also acquired Jinhua Hailiang Foreign Language School (“JHFL”) and completed the transfer of sponsorship in September 2020. As of September 30, 2020, the number of students enrolled in JHFL reached 739, an increase of 164 from the same period of last year. The increase in the number of students enrolled in our schools has proved that the Company’s precautionary measures during the COVID-19 have been effective and recognized by the public. The Company has successfully seized the opportunity to develop amid the negative impact of the COVID-19 on the education industry and the public’s philosophy of education. In addition, as of September 30, 2020, the number of students enrolled in the international education program at our affiliated schools reached 5,262, an increase of approximately 7.6% year-on-year. We managed to maintain such growth momentum despite the uncertainty of the global economy and the pandemic, thanks to the Company’s diversified curriculum business, especially our focus on creating educational products that integrate high-quality international education resources and China’s education entrance system. Our growth should also be attributed to the Company’s powerful insights into market opportunities and our ability to resist systemic risks when making important decisions.”

Dr. Chen stated, “In the post-pandemic era, online communications and interactions will change people’s daily life, learning behaviors and business patterns. Following the rapid development of the Company’s online education technology and curriculums, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the Company has officially launched online educational training services of all subjects for students at all stages in the summer this year. The education quality has been widely recognized by our students and their parents. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, our online educational training business has served 10,415 student attendances. As of November 15, 2020, a total of 28,424 student attendances took our online courses during fiscal year 2021, providing sufficient driving force for the Company’s business development and innovation. On-site educational training services are also in a steady state of development. We expect that on-site training centers will be opened in all places where Hailiang Education schools are located in the future. In addition, the application of educational technology in schools also shows a trend of simultaneous innovation. The Company hopes to promote the high-quality development of education by tapping into the power of technology, and is committed to improving management efficiency and teaching and learning quality by creating “Smart Campus” and “Smart Classrooms”. Currently, we have formed an education research and development team with rich experience in education and IT application development. We are cooperating with top-tier universities and industry leaders in China to create technology and products, and will continue to upgrade “Smart Campus” and “Smart Classrooms” with various application scenarios. At present, more than 50 educational technology systems are used for various application scenarios to further standardize and intelligentize our management and teaching activities. As the brain of the entire Company, the big data center has strong storage and computing capabilities. It can provide sufficient data support for our management and decision-making, and realize a series of big data application scenarios, such as data integration and development management, by providing uniform data standards and services to our schools. For example, the big data center can record students’ grades, moral development, mental health and other dimensions of information, forming a complete “student growth profile” during a student’s entire school period. At the same time, we are actively accelerating the upgrade and launch of various new teaching system products. For example, Hailiang Star Classroom is now officially piloting in Hailiang Foreign Language School, Tianma Experimental School and Hailiang Experimental High School. Teachers have access to relevant lesson resources online and prepare online courseware to teach in class. This new system has saved teachers’ time for lesson preparation and has improved teaching efficiency in class. The overall usage coverage of the above three schools in the first month of the 2020-2021 school year has exceeded 40%. Teachers and students can also use the iClass system in classroom scenes. Currently, teachers can enhance interactions with students through iPads. The teaching resources will be gradually improved in the future, bringing in features such as AR electronic experiment display and online playback of course materials, and applications in students’ after-class scenes will be actively explored.”

 

First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Highlights

• Revenue was RMB298.5 million (US$44.0 million), an increase of 29.8% from RMB229.9 million for the same period of last year.
• Gross profit was RMB44.5 million (US$6.6 million), compared with gross loss of RMB3.5 million for the same period of last year.
• Gross profit margin was 14.9%, compared with gross loss margin of 1.5% for the same period of last year.
• Net profit attributable to the Company’s shareholders was RMB26.9 million (US$4.0 million), compared with net loss attributable to the Company’s shareholders of RMB15.3 million for the same period of last year.
• Basic and diluted earnings per share were RMB0.07 (US$0.01), compared with basic and diluted loss per share of RMB0.04 for the same period of last year.

First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2021 Operational Highlights^[1]

• As of September 30, 2020, the scale of the Company’s school network has expanded to 42 schools, 13 of which were affiliated schools that we sponsored and 29 of which were managed schools that we provided education and management services to.
• As of September 30, 2020, the aggregate number of students enrolled in both our affiliated and managed schools were 72,846, including 26,869 students enrolled in our affiliated schools. The number of students enrolled in the basic educational programs of our affiliated schools was 21,607, and the number of students enrolled in the international programs of our affiliated schools was 5,262.
• As of September 30, 2020, there were two new managed schools in Suqian City, Jiangsu Province, namely Xiamen Road School and Fumin Avenue School. These two schools include primary and middle school programs. In recent years, the Company, through continuously accumulating experiences, has gradually provided education and management services to managed schools in an intelligentized and standardized way, and these services such as academic management, brand culture creation, and logistics management. The Company’s operation and management capabilities have improved year by year. In the future, the Company will continue to develop rapidly through the asset-light model and provide extensive and high-quality services to manage more public and private schools.
• As of September 30, 2020, there was an aggregate of 2,441 teachers and educational staff in our affiliated schools, including 14 golden Olympiad competition training coaches, 12 exceptional teachers, and 154 senior teachers. Additionally, more than 500 staff graduated from dual first-class universities (including 28 graduates from Peking University and Tsinghua University) have been appointed to take leading positions as teachers or management as of September 30, 2020. In addition, there was an aggregate of 58 mentors and 134 trainees in Hailiang Education Cadre Army Academy, and 78% of the trainees have completed the training programs.
• As of the date of our financial results reported on Form 6-K filed on November 30, 2020, in our affiliated schools, two students’ inventions were granted with patents of utility model by the State Intellectual Property Office; five students won the International Gold Medal of the ASDAN Simulation Business Competition; nine students won the Provincial First Prize of the National High School Mathematics League in 2020, and six of them were selected into the provincial team; three students won the Provincial First Prize of the 37th National Middle School Student Physics Competition in 2020, and one of them also won the silver medal in the national final; two students won the Provincial First Prize of the National Middle School Student Biology League in 2020; two students won the Provincial First Prize of the China Chemistry Olympiad in 2020; Hailiang Junior Middle School’s basketball team won the Championship of the National U15 Basketball Final in 2020; Hailiang Experimental High School’s rugby team won the Second Prize of the “Luohe Cup” National Youth U-series 7-a-side Rugby Championship in 2020.
• As of the date of our financial results reported on Form 6-K filed on November 30, 2020, the Company expected that it will have two new affiliated schools after the completion of construction, namely Ninghai Public School and Xianghu Public School. These two schools were expected to start operating in the fall of 2021. Ninghai Public School is located in Ninghai County, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province. With an area of 287 acres, Ninghai Public School will be able to accommodate approximately 4,500 primary, middle and high school students. Xianghu Public School is located in Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. With an area of 41 acres, Xianghu Public School will be able to accommodate approximately 1,152 primary and middle school students.

First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results

Revenue

Revenue increased by 29.8% to RMB298.5 million (US$44.0 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB229.9 million for the same period of last year. It was mainly due to the steady growth of our revenue from primary, middle and high school educational services, educational training services, as well as our education and management services for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 comparing to the same period of last year,  and partially offset by the decrease of revenue from our study trip services, which was temporarily impacted by COVID-19,

Revenue from primary, middle and high school educational services increased by RMB69.8 million (US$10.3 million), or 36.1% to RMB263.1 million (US$38.8 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021. Revenue from the basic educational programs increased by RMB45.4 million (US$6.7 million), or 33.9% to RMB179.4 million (US$26.4 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB134.0 million for the same period of last year. Revenue from the international programs increased by RMB24.4 million (US$3.6 million), or 41.1%, to RMB83.7 million (US$12.3 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB59.3 million for the same period of last year. The increase was mainly due to the increase in the number of students enrolled and the increase in the average tuition charged in both programs. Besides, as the 2019/2020 school year extended from June 2020 to July 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19, the deferred amount of revenue as of June 30, 2020 was recognized as revenue in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, amounting to RMB36.4 million (US$5.4 million).

Revenue from educational training services increased by RMB10.8 million (US$1.6 million), or 120.0%, to RMB19.8 million (US$2.9 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB9.0 million for the same period of last year. This was mainly due to the great expansion of online educational training business in the summer of fiscal year 2021.

Revenue from study trip services decreased by RMB19.4 million (US$2.9million), or 91.5%, to RMB1.8 million (US$0.3 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB21.2 million for the same period of last year. This was mainly due to the restriction on travels because of COVID-19 which affected study trip services in fiscal year 2021.

Revenue from education and management services increased by RMB7.4 million (US$1.1 million), or 164.4%, to RMB11.9 million (US$1.8 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB4.5 million for the same period of last year. This was mainly due to the increase in the number of managed schools.

Other revenue mainly represented revenue derived from overseas study consulting services and hotel management services. Other revenue was RMB1.9 million (US$0.3 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, and was flat for the same period of last year.

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue increased by RMB20.7 million (US$3.0 million) or 8.9%, to RMB254.0 million (US$37.4 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB233.3 million for the same period of last year. The increase was primarily due to increased compensation levels of employees and an increase in the number of employees, and partially offset by a decrease in costs related to study trip services resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19.

Gross Profit
/
(loss) and Gross Profit/(loss) Margin

Gross profit was RMB44.5 million (US$6.6 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, compared with gross loss of RMB3.5 million for the same period of last year.

Gross profit margin was 14.9% for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, compared with gross loss margin of 1.5% for the same period of last year. The growth was mainly due to that 1) profitability of primary, middle and high school educational services improved resulting from the increase in the number of enrolled students and average tuition, 2) the proportion of study trip services, with low gross margin, declined due to the impact of COVID-19, and 3) as the 2019/2020 school year extended from June 2020 to July 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19, revenue from primary, middle and high school educational services increased comparing to the same period of last year, contributing for the increase of gross profit margin.

Other Income, net

Other income consists of government grants and other miscellaneous income. Other income increased by RMB3.0 million (US$0.4 million), or 19.7%, to RMB18.2 million (US$2.7 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB15.2 million for the same period of last year, primarily due to an increase in government grants of subsidies we received from the local government.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses increased by RMB1.6 million (US$0.2 million) or 7.1%, to RMB24.2 million (US$3.6 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB22.6 million for the same period of last year.

Selling expenses increased by RMB3.4 million (US$0.5 million) or 56.7%, to RMB9.4 million (US$1.4 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB6.0 million for the same period of last year. This increase was primarily due to the rapid expansion of the online training business for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, as a result, we recognized RMB1.4 million (US$0.2 million) of student enrollment rewards on online training business in current period. Excluding the above impact, our selling expenses as a percentage of total revenue kept stable compared with the same period of last year.

Administrative expenses decreased by RMB1.8 million (US$0.3 million) or 10.8%, to RMB14.8 million (US$2.2 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB16.6 million for the same period of last year. This decrease was primarily due to the reduction in administrative expenses resulting from the liquidation of Jiangxi Haibo Education Management Co., Ltd and the decrease in professional fees.

Finance Income and Finance Costs

Finance income decreased by RMB0.5 million (US$0.07 million), or 6.2%, to RMB7.6 million (US$1.1 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB8.1 million for the same period of last year.

Finance costs decreased by RMB3.4 million (US$0.5 million), or 91.9%, to RMB0.3 million (US$0.04 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB3.7 million for the same period of last year. This decrease was primarily due to the reduction in the interest on lease liabilities.

Income Tax Expense

Income tax expense increased by RMB7.6 million (US$1.1 million) or 58.5%, to RMB20.6 million (US$3.0 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, from RMB13.0 million for the same period of last year. The increase was mainly driven by the growth of taxable profits. Besides, as the school year started in September, our schools provided and recognized revenue from primary, middle, and high school educational service only for September during the first quarter of both fiscal years, while fixed cost and expenses was recognized on accrual basis, which resulted in a net loss for our affiliated schools. Moreover, except for Zhenjiang Jianghe High School of Art Co., Ltd. and Zhuji Hailiang Foreign Language High School Co., Ltd. that were subject to 25% income tax rate, other affiliated schools were exempt from income tax, thus, no deferred tax expense was recognized for net losses of our affiliated schools that were exempted from income tax. As a result, the combined effective tax rate was higher than the notional tax rate.

Net Profit/(loss) and Net Profit/(loss) Attributable to the Company’s Shareholders

Net profit was RMB25.3 million (US$3.7 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, compared with net loss of RMB19.4 million for the same period of last year.

Net profit attributable to the Company’s shareholders was RMB26.9 million (US$4.0 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, compared with net loss attributable to the Company’s shareholders of RMB15.3 million for the same period of last year.

Basic and Diluted Earnings/(loss) per Share

Basic and diluted earnings per share were RMB0.07 (US$0.01) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, compared with basic and diluted loss per share of RMB0.04 for the same period of last year.

Cash Flow

Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB1,027.9 million (US$151.4 million) for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, an increase of 48.9% from RMB690.2 million for the same period of last year. The increase was mainly due to an increase in the amount of tuition received. Net cash used in investing activities was RMB854.9 million (US$125.9 million) for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, compared with RMB735.5 million for the same period of last year. The increase was mainly due to the payment of the acquisition of JHFL and the increase of term deposits placed with a related party finance entity compared with the same period of last year. Net cash used in financing activities was RMB11.0 million (US$1.6 million) for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, compared with RMB51.2 million for the same period of last year. The decrease was mainly due to that no dividend was paid to non-controlling interests during current period, and less loan repayment to a related party compared with the same period of last year.

Balance Sheet

As of September 30, 2020, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of RMB676.7 million (US$99.7 million), compared with RMB515.3 million as of June 30, 2020. As of September 30, 2020, the Company had term deposits held at a related party finance entity of RMB1,698.8 million (US$250.2 million), compared with RMB921.6 million as of June 30, 2020.

Business Combination Between Entities Under Common Control

On July 15, 2020, the Company entered into a sponsorship transfer agreement with its affiliate Hailiang Education Investment Group Co., Ltd. (“Hailiang Investment”) to acquire 100% sponsorship of JHFL for a total consideration of RMB34 million. In September 2020, the Company completed all the required process to obtain the sponsorship of JHFL. Since the Company and JHFL were under common control by the ultimate controller Mr. Hailiang Feng, both before and after the acquisition and the control was not temporary, the transaction was accounted for as a business combination between entities under common control. The Company recognized the assets and liabilities of JHFL using the book value at the combination date. The difference between the carrying amount of the net asset acquired and the consideration paid was adjusted to “contributed capital”. The financial statements of JHFL were included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on the carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities as if the combination had occurred at the date that Mr Hailiang Feng first obtained control of JHFL. The opening balances and the comparative figures of the consolidated financial statements were also restated.

Exchange Rate

This announcement contains translations of certain Renminbi (RMB) amounts into U.S. dollars (US$) at a specified rate solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, the translation of RMB into US$ has been made at RMB6.7896 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect on September 30, 2020, as set forth in the H.10 Statistical Release of the Federal Reserve Board.

The Company will host its the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 financial results conference call at 8:30 am Eastern Time (5:30 am Pacific Time/9:30 pm Beijing Time) on December 1, 2020. To attend the call, please use the information below for either dial-in access or webcast access. When prompted on dial-in, ask for “Hailiang Education Group/HLG”.

Please dial in at least 15 minutes before the commencement of the call to ensure timely participation. For those unable to participate, an audio replay of the conference call will be available from approximately one hour after the end of the live call until December 8, 2020. The dial-in for the replay is +1-877-344-7529 within the United States or +1-412-317-0088 internationally. The replay access code is No. 10150017.

A live webcast and archive of the conference call will be available at http://ir.hailiangedu.com.

About Hailiang Education Group Inc.

Hailiang Education (Nasdaq: HLG) is one of the largest primary, middle, and high school educational service providers in China. The Company primarily focuses on providing distinguished, specialized, and internationalized education. Hailiang Education is dedicated to providing students with high-quality primary, middle, and high school, and international educational services and highly valuing the quality of students’ life, study, and development. Hailiang Education adapts its education services based upon its students’ individual aptitudes. Hailiang Education is devoted to improving its students’ academic capabilities, cultural accomplishments, and international perspectives. Hailiang Education operates multilingual programs including Chinese, English, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and French. In addition, Hailiang Education has launched various diversified high-quality courses, such as Mathematical Olympiad courses, A-level courses, Australia Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) courses, IELTS courses, TOEFL courses, as well as SAT courses. The Company has also formed extensive cooperative network with more than 200 educational institutions and universities globally. Hailiang Education is committed to making great effort to provide its students with greater opportunities to enroll in well-known domestic and international universities to further their education. For more information, please visit http://ir.hailiangedu.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains information about Hailiang Education’s view of its future expectations, plans, and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the following: general economic conditions in China, competition in the education industry in China, the expected growth of the Chinese private education market, Chinese governmental policies relating to private educational services and providers of such services, health epidemics and other outbreaks in China, the Company’s business plans, the Company’s future business development, results of operations, and financial condition, expected changes in the Company’s revenue and certain cost or expense items, its ability to raise additional funding, its ability to maintain and grow its business, variability of operating results, its ability to maintain and enhance its brand, its development and introduction of new products and services, the number of students entrusted by schools, the successful integration of acquired companies, technologies and assets into its portfolio of software and services, marketing and other business development initiatives, dependence on key personnel, the ability to attract, hire, and retain personnel who possess the technical skills and experience necessary to meet the requirements of its clients, and its ability to protect its intellectual property, the outcome of ongoing, or any future, litigation or arbitration, including those relating to copyright and other intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Hailiang Education may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the SEC, in its annual report 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 Hailiang Education’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, whether known or unknown, and are based on current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “will make,” “will be,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “endeavor to,” “is/are likely to,” or other similar expressions. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in our annual report on Form 20-F and other filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Hailiang Education undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required under applicable law.

Contacts:

Mr. Litao Qiu 
Board Secretary 
Hailiang Education Group Inc. 
Phone: +86-571-5812-1974 
Email: [email protected]

Ms. Tina Xiao 
Ascent Investor Relations LLC 
Phone: +1-917-609-0333 
Email: [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SOURCE Hailiang Education Group Inc.