TAL Education (NYSE: TAL) reported Q4 EPS of ($0.10), $0.14 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.04. Revenue for the quarter came in at $857.7 million versus the consensus estimate of $860.84 million.

Highlights for the Fourth Quarter of Fiscal Year 2020

• Net revenues increased by 18.0% year-over-year to US$857.7 million from US$726.6 million in the same period of the prior year.
• Loss from operations was US$41.3 million, compared to income from operations of US$114.7 million in the same period of the prior year.
• Non-GAAP loss from operations, which excluded share-based compensation expenses, was US$8.4 million, compared to Non-GAAP income from operations of US$137.0 million in the same period of the prior year.
• Net loss attributable to TAL was US$90.1 million, compared to net income attributable to TAL of US$99.6 million in the same period of the prior year.
• Non-GAAP net loss attributable to TAL, which excluded share-based compensation expenses, was US$57.2 million, compared to Non-GAAP net income attributable to TAL of US$121.9 million in the same period of the prior year.
• Basic and diluted net loss per American Depositary Share ("ADS") were both US$0.15. Non-GAAP basic and diluted net loss per ADS, which excluded share-based compensation expenses, were both US$0.10. Three ADSs represent one Class A common share.
• Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled US$2,219.3 million as of February 29, 2020, compared to US$1,515.6 million as of February 28, 2019.
• Total student enrollments of normal priced long-term course increased by 56.6% year-over-year to approximately 4,646,040 from approximately 2,966,400 in the same period of the prior year.

"Our fourth fiscal quarter revenue performance was impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19 and the resulting precautionary measures with respect to our offline business. The negative impact on our offline business was partially offset by the growth in student enrollments in online courses and related revenues for the quarter," said Rong Luo, TAL's chief financial officer.

"We maintain the utmost caution for the safety and health of all our students and employees and make any short-term adjustments to our business operations when needed. For the longer term, as an established and one of the leading companies in China's education market with many years of efforts to improve our education technology and services, we continue to have full confidence in our future development," Mr. Luo continued.

GUIDANCE:

TAL Education sees Q1 2021 revenue of $875.4-895.6 million, versus the consensus of $910.64 million.

Based on our current estimates, total net revenues for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 are expected to be between US$875.4 million and US$895.6 million, representing an increase of 30% to 33% on a year-over-year basis.

If not taking into consideration the impact of potential change in exchange rate between Renminbi and the U.S. Dollar, the projected revenue growth rate is expected to be in the range of 35% to 38% for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021.

These estimates reflect the Company's current expectation, which is subject to change.

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