[Excellence and Success] Chairwoman Tseng Shu-ling: Addressing Declining Birth Rates by Launching the Indonesian Market
Excellence Chairwoman Tseng Shu-ling: Addressing Declining Birth Rates by Launching the Indonesian Market
CNA Reporter He Xiu-ling, Taipei, August 7
Tseng Shu-ling, Chairwoman of Taiwan tutoring group Excellence and Success, said today that Excellence started out in high school tutoring and, in response to declining birth rates, has also been deepening its presence in the junior-high and elementary school market. This year it will increase the number of campuses offering junior-high and elementary courses and reorganize its Indonesian market strategy; with the new semester starting in September, second-half revenue is expected to be better than the first half and may also post growth compared with last year.
Excellence and Success released its first-half financial report yesterday: revenue was NTD 388 million, up 12% year-on-year; after-tax net profit was NTD 52.639 million, up 47% year-on-year; earnings per share (EPS) were NTD 2.78 — both revenue and profit surpassed the same period last year. Cumulative revenue for the first seven months of the year was NTD 459 million, up 11.6% year-on-year.
Excellence and Success is best known for Chen Li Mathematics, and held a media briefing today. Tseng Shu-ling noted that although Excellence started in high school tutoring — which still accounts for over 60% of revenue — it has been developing junior-high and elementary programs in response to declining birth rates; it will increase the number of campuses offering these programs in the second half of this year and launch competency-based after-school programs, with junior-high and elementary programs currently accounting for over 30% of revenue.
Regarding the second-half outlook for this year, she noted that the second half is normally better than the first, since the first semester overlaps with the Lunar New Year holiday and has fewer school days, and in June junior and senior high school students graduate — reducing income by one grade level for July and August. Once the new semester begins in September, operations will be stronger than in the first half.
Looking at Southeast Asian markets, Tseng Shu-ling mentioned that Excellence has had its sights on Indonesia since early 2023, because Indonesia will in the future recognize Mandarin Chinese as a second foreign language and there is a demographic dividend. This year the group will launch its market expansion plan: in Q4, it will optimize Mandarin teaching materials and faculty in preparation, and plans to complete the setup of its online platform in the Indonesian market in October, targeting K12 (kindergarten through high school) students and the adult market — positioning this as a potential new growth engine.