SINGAPORE, June 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 51Talk Online Education Group ("51Talk" or the "Company") (NYSE American: COE), a global online education platform with core expertise in English education, announced its unaudited results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.

First Quarter 2025 Financial and Operating Highlights

   -- Gross billings[1] for the first quarter of 2025 were US$21.9 million, a 
      74.6% growth from the first quarter of 2024. 
 
   -- Net revenues were US$18.2 million for the first quarter of 2025, a 93.1% 
      increase from US$9.4 million for the first quarter of 2024. 
 
   -- The number of active students with attended lesson consumption was 
      approximately 81,100 in the first quarter of 2025, representing a 75.5% 
      increase from approximately 46,200 for the first quarter of 2024. 
 
     Key Financial and Operating 
     Data                             For the three months ended 
                                     ---------------------------- 
                                      March. 31,     March. 31,     Y-o-Y 
                                         2024           2025       Change 
                                     -------------  -------------  ------- 
 
Net Revenues (in US$ millions)                 9.4           18.2   93.1 % 
Gross Margin                                77.5 %         77.0 %  -0.5ppt 
Gross Billings (in US$ millions)              12.6           21.9   74.6 % 
 
Active students with attended 
 lesson consumption([2]) (in 
 thousands)                                   46.2           81.1   75.5 % 
-----------------------------------  -------------  -------------  ------- 
 
 
 
([1]) Gross billings for a specific period, which is one of the Company's key 
operating data, is defined as the total amount of cash received and receivable 
from third party payment platforms for the sale of course packages and 
services in such period, net of the total amount of refunds in such period. 
The gross billings data included herein was from the Company's business system 
and converted with quarterly corresponding exchange rate, which may lead to 
differences with bank records. 
([2]) An "active student with attended lesson consumption" for a given period 
refers to a student who attended at least one paid lesson, excluding those 
students who only attended paid live broadcasting lessons or trial lessons. 
 

"Our first-quarter gross billings increased by 74.6% compared to the same period last year, highlighting the progress we've made and the robustness of our business model. We remain confident in the sustainable growth trajectory of our operations. Looking ahead, we are encouraged by the positive momentum in the second quarter. Breakthroughs in our existing markets are driving results, and we are seeing promising early returns from our strategic investments in new regions." stated Jack Jiajia Huang, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of 51Talk.

"We are establishing leadership positions in many of our core markets and are confident that our business model is well-equipped to outperform incumbents in mature markets and seize first-mover advantage in emerging ones. Education continues to be an operationally intensive sector, and we are proactively addressing the complexities of managing a growing, multi-market business. To support this expansion, we have taken deliberate steps to optimize our organizational structure, accelerate AI training and adoption company-wide, and deepen user engagement to foster stronger connections with our community."

"We are excited about the future of our business and remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering long-term value to our shareholders, students and partners." concluded Jack Jiajia Huang.

First Quarter 2025 Financial Results

Net Revenues and Gross Margin

Net revenues for the first quarter of 2025 were US$18.2 million, a 93.1% increase from US$9.4 million for the same quarter last year. The number of active students with attended lesson consumption was approximately 81,100 in the first quarter of 2025, a 75.5% increase from 46,200 for the same quarter last year.

Cost of revenues for the first quarter of 2025 was US$4.2 million, a 97.6% increase from US$2.1 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was primarily due to the increase in total service fees paid to teachers, mainly resulting from an increased number of paid lessons.

Gross profit for the first quarter of 2025 was US$14.0 million, a 91.8% increase from US$7.3 million for the same quarter last year.

Gross margin for the first quarter of 2025 was 77.0%, compared with 77.5% for the same quarter last year.

Operating Expenses

Total operating expenses for the first quarter of 2025 were US$15.3 million, a 35.6% increase from US$11.3 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was mainly due to the increase in sales and marketing expenses.

Sales and marketing expenses for the first quarter of 2025 were US$11.1 million, a 42.7% increase from US$7.8 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was mainly due to higher sales personnel costs related to increases in the number of sales and marketing personnel and higher expenses incurred for our marketing activities. Excluding share-based compensation expenses, non-GAAP sales and marketing expenses for the first quarter of 2025 were US$11.0 million, a 42.6% increase from US$7.7 million for the same quarter last year.

Product development expenses for the first quarter of 2025 were US$1.0 million, a 9.8% increase from US$1.0 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was primarily due to higher product development personnel costs. Excluding share-based compensation expenses, non-GAAP product development expenses for the first quarter of 2025 were US$1.0 million, a 12.3% increase from US$0.9 million for the same quarter last year.

General and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2025 were US$3.2 million, a 23.8% increase from US$2.6 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was primarily due to higher general and administrative personnel costs. Excluding share-based compensation expenses, non-GAAP general and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2025 were US$3.0 million, a 26.3% increase from US$2.4 million for the same quarter last year.

Loss from Operations

Operating loss for the first quarter of 2025 was US$1.3 million, compared with operating loss of US$4.0 million for the same quarter last year.

Non-GAAP operating loss for the first quarter of 2025 was US$1.0 million, compared with non-GAAP operating loss of US$3.7 million for the same quarter last year.

Net loss attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders

Net loss attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders for the first quarter of 2025 was US$1.5 million, compared with net loss of US$4.0 million for the same quarter last year.

Excluding share-based compensation expenses of US$0.3 million, non-GAAP net loss for the first quarter of 2025 was US$1.2 million, compared with non-GAAP net loss of US$3.7 million for the same quarter last year.

Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders for the first quarter of 2025 was US$0.004, compared with basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders of US$0.01 for the same quarter last year.

Excluding share-based compensation expenses of US$0.3 million, non-GAAP basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders for the first quarter of 2025 was US$0.003, compared with non-GAAP basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders of US$0.01 for the same quarter last year.

Basic and diluted net loss per American depositary share ("ADS") attributable to ordinary shareholders for the first quarter of 2025 was US$0.25, compared with basic and diluted net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders of US$0.69 for the same quarter last year. Each ADS represents 60 Class A ordinary shares.

Excluding share-based compensation expenses of US$0.3 million, non-GAAP basic and diluted net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders for the first quarter of 2025 was US$0.20, compared with non-GAAP basic and diluted net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders of US$0.64 for the same quarter last year.

Balance Sheet

As of March 31, 2025, the Company had total cash, cash equivalents and time deposits of US$29.5 million, compared with US$$29.2 million as of December 31, 2024.

The Company had advances from students([3]) of US$47.9 million as of March 31, 2025, compared with US$45.1 million as of December 31, 2024.

The financial statements for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025 herein have not been audited or reviewed by the Company's independent registered accounting firm.

 
([3]) "Advances from students" is defined as the amount of obligation to 
transfer goods or service to students or business partners for which 
consideration has been received from students in advance. The deposits from 
students are also presented in the total amount of "advances from students". 
 

Outlook

For the second quarter of 2025, the Company currently expects net gross billings to be between US$24.5 million and US$25.5 million,which would represent a sequential growth of 11.7% to 16.3% and an increase of approximately 54.4% to 60.7% from the same quarter last year.

The above outlook is based on current market conditions and reflects the Company's current and preliminary estimates of market and operating conditions and customer demand, which are all subject to change.

Conference Call

The Company's management will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on June 9, 2025 (8:00 PM Singapore/Hong Kong time on June 9, 2025).

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