New Oriental 2nd fiscal quarter profit up

New Oriental Education and Technology Group Inc, China's leading provider of private educational services, announced on Tuesday a profit of $9.7 million in its second fiscal quarter of 2014, which ended on November 30, 2013.

The New York Stock Exchange-listed company, said in its unaudited financial report that it gained a net income of $9.7 million in the fiscal quarter, compared with a loss of $9 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

The company said its revenue in the quarter increased 25.6 percent year-on-year to $208.3 million from $165.9 million in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Louis T. Hsieh, New Oriental's president and chief financial officer, attributed the company's improving business performance to its "Harvest the Market" strategy, which was announced in the third fiscal quarter of 2013 with a key to slow the expansion of teaching centers and increase the usage of established centers.

According to the company, it had 711 schools and learning centers as of Nov 30, 2013, down from 744 on Nov 30, 2012. Student enrollments in academic subjects tutoring and test preparation courses increased by 11.8 percent year-on-year to approximately 565,100 from approximately 505,500 of the prior fiscal year.