Shanghai Gench Education Group Limited (“Gench Education” or the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”, Stock Code:1525) -- the leading higher vocational education group in East China and the largest higher vocational education group in Shanghai, delightedly announced that:
During the Reporting Period, the Group recorded revenue of approximately RMB404 million, representing an increase of 16.4% year-on-year (“YoY”). Profit for the period was approximately RMB133 million, increased by 19.0% YoY. Earnings per share for the period was RMB0.33, increased by 22.2% YoY.
The Board of Directors has decided to declare an interim dividend of HK$0.10 per share and the amount of dividend remains stable. As of the first half of 2022, the Group has purchased a total of 16.78 million shares in the open market, with an average price of HK$4.83 per share, at a total consideration of approximately HK$81.04 million. The Board believes that the current share price of the Company and trading volume seriously underestimate the Company’s performance and related assets. And the Board plans to continue purchasing shares from the open market.
Turning over the best results for the same period in history, “Based in Lingang, insisting on quality” is undoubtedly one of the core driving factors, providing the Group with a surge of momentum to become a long-distance runner for high-quality development of higher education.
Lingang accelerates the construction of an independent comprehensive coastal city with great potential
Lingang New Area major national strategy planned, deployed, and promoted by General Secretary Xi Jinping and is one of the three new major tasks entrusted to Shanghai by the General Secretary. In the past three years since its establishment, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown by an average of 21.3% annually, the Gross Industrial Output (GII) has grown by an average of 40.2% annually and the fixed asset investment has grown by an average of 43% annually. A number of reform and innovative legal systems and policies have been introduced intensively, starting from the "Overall Plan of Lingang New Area", which has started the pace of "building a special economic functional area with more international market influence and competitiveness", to the "Regulations on the Lingang New Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone" of ensuring the deep-level, all-round and high-level reform and opening up of Lingang New Area. Moreover, "Several Opinions on Supporting the New Area of China (Shanghai) Free Trade Pilot Zone to Accelerate the Development of an Independent Integrated Nodal Coastal City" has drawn up a promising development blueprint for Lingang. Driven by the demonstration zone of the national area for pilot Industry-Education Integration in Lingang New Area, as the only privately-run higher vocational education group in the area, Gench Education has great potential to explore and build a new type of industry-education integration ecological university.
Gench Education adheres to quality education and strives to be a long-term practitioner of high-quality development of higher education
In the past 22 years, Gench Education has always adhered to high quality operating capacity and achieved yearly progress. According to the CUAA.net, our University ranked third among all category I private universities in China in 2022, 24 undergraduate majors ranked among top 10 in "2022 First-class Majors ranking (Application-oriented) in China", representing approximately two-thirds of total undergraduate majors of our University, and 27 undergraduate majors ranked among top 20, representing approximately three-fourths of total undergraduate majors of our University. Our University ranked 4th in Shanghai and 34th in China (including public universities) in terms of comprehensive strength.
In the first half of 2022, 9 majors of our University were selected as the 2021 Shanghai first-class undergraduate majors construction site, and provincial first-class undergraduate major construction points increased to 15, reaching 40.5% of the undergraduate majors of our University. And 8 majors of our University obtained project approval as municipal key course construction in colleges and universities in Shanghai in 2022. Recently, our University has been approved by the Ministry of Education as an innovation and development centre for ideological and political work in colleges and universities, and is one of the four private universities that have been approved nationwide. Our University was also elected as a cultivation and creation unit of “National Party Building Demonstration Universities”, one of the three private colleges and universities selected nationwide.
Mr. Zhou Xingzeng, the Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Gench Education, said, “The era of reckless growth in higher education has passed. At present and in the future, higher education should be regional priority and quality oriented. Gench Education focuses on quality cultivation in the region, fully grasps the historic development opportunities in the Lingang New Area and proactively serves national and local development strategies. We always adhere to the philosophy of high-quality schooling standards, cultivate more high-quality technical and skilled talents, strive to be a long-term practitioner for the high-quality development of higher education and support thousands of students to achieve a better future with high-quality education.”
