UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 6-K

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER

PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16

UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the month of November 2020

Commission File Number: 001-38235

RISE EDUCATION CAYMAN LTD

Room 101, Jia He Guo Xin Mansion,

No. 15 Baiqiao Street Guangqumennei, Dongcheng District

Beijing 100062, People’s Republic of China

(Address of principal executive offices)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F  ☒                Form 40-F  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):  ☐

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Date: November 12, 2020

Exhibit Index

Exhibit 99.1

RISE Education Announces Third Quarter 2020 Unaudited Financial Results

BEIJING, November 12, 2020 – RISE Education Cayman Ltd (“RISE” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: REDU), a leading junior English Language Training (“ELT”) provider in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020.

Impact of COVID-19

The outbreak of COVID-19 in late January 2020 had a significant and material adverse impact on the Company’s operations through the first nine months of 2020. In accordance with government regulations to contain the outbreak, RISE’s learning centers were temporarily closed for a majority of the time during the period starting January 19, 2020 up to September 2020. This adversely impacted the Company’s ability to recognize revenue and collect tuition fees not only from renewed students due to the deferred academic schedule, but also from new students who are acquired through its physical network of learning centers. In response to this challenging environment, the Company proactively implemented measures during the first nine months of the year to stabilize its business through targeted cost controls and adjusted capital expenditure and liquidity plans to preserve cash. At the same time, the Company also upgraded and transformed Rise+ into a nation-wide open and interactive technology platform for learning, teaching and training. The Company successfully delivered its first online small group class through Rise+ platform in March 2020, which has demonstrated the Company’s digital capabilities and built a solid infrastructure for the transformation of its business into an Online Merge Offline (“OMO”) model.

Third Quarter of 2020 Financial and Operational Highlights

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Ms. Lihong Wang, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of RISE, commented, “Our quarterly results continued to improve with a set of solid operational metrics as our business experienced robust recovery while emerging from the impact of COVID-19. As of date, our operations have generally returned to pre-pandemic ‘normal’. All of RISE’s self-owned learning centers (SOLCs) had been re-opened by the end of September. We have received very positive feedback from parents who are keen for their children to return to regular classrooms, as soon as offline classes are allowed to resume. Our financial performance improved substantially, with quarterly revenue nearly doubling from the prior quarter. Disciplined cost management and a well-planned marketing strategy put expenses well under control and helped the Company turn profitable in the third quarter, fueled by strong growth momentum. Looking ahead, we expect the adverse impact of COVID-19 on our business to linger for a longer time and more challenges are still ahead of us. However, we remain very optimistic about the direction of our Company, as we have seen a clear path to recovery and are excited about the long-term growth opportunities that lie ahead.”

Ms. Jiandong Lu, Chief Financial Officer of RISE, added, “Our total revenue reached RMB320 million in the third quarter, up 94% from the prior quarter. In addition, the adjusted EBITDA and net income attributable to RISE both turned positive, achieving RMB58 million and RMB28 million, respectively, for the quarter. This quarter has witnessed strong momentum in new student enrollment for our regular courses, an increase of 122% quarter-over-quarter as we re-opened all our self-owned learning centers. However, the pandemic still affected our operations negatively in the third quarter and its impact is likely to continue for some time. The lower new student enrollments in the first and second quarters due to the closure of our learning centers caused our student pool to shrink as compared to the same periods of last year, resulting in a decrease in the total number of students in class. The less effective learning online compared to offline, particularly for young students, also contributed to a loss of students in the third quarter. The teaching capacity constraints in the changing environment limited our ability to resume the pace of opening new classes for newly enrolled students. This being said, we believe that, with our offline network fully in operation, our class scheduling optimized and our teacher resources expanded, we will be in a better position to meet the rising demands for our services and achieve business growth next year.”

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Financial Results for the Third Quarter of 2020

Revenues

Total revenues for the third quarter of 2020 increased by RMB155.0 million, or 94.0%, to RMB320.0 million (US$47.1 million) from RMB165.0 million for the preceding quarter and decreased by RMB91.1 million, or 22.2%, from RMB411.1 million for the same period of the prior year.

Cost of Revenues

Cost of revenues for the third quarter of 2020 increased by RMB21.3 million, or 15.1%, to RMB162.9 million (US$24.0 million) from RMB141.6 million for the preceding quarter and decreased by RMB33.4 million, or 17.0%, from RMB196.3 million for the same period of the prior year. The quarter-over-quarter increase was primarily due to the personnel costs associated with an increase in total teaching hours as the offline learning centers have gradually resumed full operations nationwide. Additionally, the quarter-over-quarter increase was also driven by the increased textbook and teaching material supply, together with the end of rental concession. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to a decrease in direct costs associated with the Company’s study tour services and costs of learning materials, and the declined teachers’ compensations as a result of the reduced teacher headcount and teaching hours. Non-GAAP cost of revenues⁴ for the third quarter of 2020 increased by 15.5% quarter-over-quarter and decreased by 17.4% year-over-year to RMB158.9 million (US$23.4 million).

Gross Profit

As a result of the foregoing, the Company’s gross profit increased quarter-over-quarter to RMB157.1 million (US$23.1 million) for the third quarter of 2020 compared to RMB23.4 million for the preceding quarter. The Company’s gross profit for the third quarter of 2020 decreased by RMB57.8 million, or 26.9%, year-over-year from RMB214.9 million for the same period of the prior year.

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Operating Expenses

Total operating expenses for the third quarter of 2020 increased by RMB40.4 million, or 41.5%, to RMB137.7 million (US$20.3 million) from RMB97.3 million for the preceding quarter and decreased by RMB11.4 million, or 7.6%, from RMB149.0 million for the same period of the prior year. Non-GAAP operating expenses for the third quarter of 2020 were RMB134.0 million (US$19.7 million).

Operating Income/(Loss)

Operating income for the third quarter of 2020 was RMB19.4 million (US$2.9 million), compared to operating loss of RMB73.9 million for the preceding quarter and operating income of RMB65.8 million for the same period of the prior year. Non-GAAP operating income for the third quarter of 2020 was RMB27.1 million (US$4.0 million), compared to non-GAAP operating loss of RMB67.5 million for the preceding quarter and non-GAAP operating income of RMB74.9 million for the same period of the prior year.

Interest Expense

Interest expense for the third quarter of 2020 decreased to RMB5.5 million (US$0.8 million) from RMB5.9 million for the preceding quarter and RMB8.8 million for the same period of the prior year. The year-over-year decrease was attributable to decreases in both the outstanding balance of loans and the interest rate.

Other Income

Other income for the third quarter of 2020 was RMB16.0 million (US$2.4 million), compared with RMB2.2 million for the preceding quarter and RMB0.7 million for the same period of the prior year. The increase in other income quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year was primarily attributable to the output value-added tax exemption during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Income Tax Expense/(Benefit)

Income tax expense for the third quarter of 2020 was RMB4.0 million (US$0.6 million), compared with income tax benefit of RMB11.0 million for the preceding quarter and income tax expense of RMB24.0 million for the same period of the prior year.

Net Income Attributable to RISE

Net income attributable to RISE for the third quarter of 2020 was RMB28.0 million (US$4.1 million), compared with net loss attributable to RISE of RMB58.0 million for the preceding quarter and net income attributable to RISE of RMB39.4 million for the same period of the prior year.

Non-GAAP net income attributable to RISE for the third quarter of 2020 was RMB35.7 million (US$5.3 million), compared with Non-GAAP net loss attributable to RISE of RMB51.6 million for the preceding quarter and Non-GAAP net income attributable to RISE of RMB48.5 million for the same period of the prior year.

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EBITDA represents net income/(loss) before interests, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. EBITDA income for the third quarter of 2020 was RMB54.5 million (US$8.0 million), compared with EBITDA loss of 46.4 million for the preceding quarter and EBITDA income of RMB84.2 million for the same period of the prior year.

Adjusted EBITDA income for the third quarter of 2020 was RMB57.8 million (US$8.5 million), compared with adjusted EBITDA loss of 44.5 million for the preceding quarter and adjusted EBITDA income of RMB88.9 million for the same period of the prior year.

Basic and Diluted Earnings per ADS

Basic and diluted net income attributable to RISE per ADS was RMB0.50 (US$0.07) and RMB0.49 (US$0.07), respectively, for the third quarter of 2020.

Basic and diluted non-GAAP net income attributable to RISE per ADS was RMB0.63 (US$0.09) for the third quarter of 2020.

Cash Flow

Net cash inflow from operating activities for the third quarter of 2020 was RMB103.2 million (US$15.2 million), compared with net cash outflow of RMB118.1 million from operating activities for the preceding quarter and net cash inflow of RMB10.0 million from operating activities for the same period of the prior year. The quarter-over-quarter increase in cash inflow was mainly due to the resumption of offline student enrollment. The year-over-year increase was mainly attributable to the initial impact of the change in tuition fee collection schedule in 2019.

Balance Sheet

As of September 30, 2020, the Company had combined cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash of RMB774.6 million (US$114.1 million), compared with RMB1,022.8 million as of December 31, 2019.

Current and non-current deferred revenue and customer advances were RMB712.7 million (US$105.0 million) as of September 30, 2020, representing a decrease of 5.7% from RMB756.0 million as of December 31, 2019. The decrease was primarily because the revenue recognition for our courses and services is larger than the cash collection. Deferred revenue and customer advances consisted primarily of upfront tuition payments from students and initial franchise fees from the Company’s franchisees.

Financial Results for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020

Revenues

Total revenues for the first nine months of 2020 decreased by RMB519.2 million, or 46.6%, to RMB594.0 million (US$87.5 million) from RMB1,113.2 million for the same period of the prior year.

Cost of Revenues

Cost of revenues for the first nine months of 2020 decreased by RMB64.0 million, or 12.5%, to RMB447.1 million (US$65.8 million) from RMB511.1 million for the same period of the prior year, primarily due to a decrease in direct costs associated with the Company’s study tour services, cost of learning materials, teachers’ compensations as a result of reduced teaching hours and headcount, social insurance exemption and rental concession. Non-GAAP cost of revenues for the first nine months of 2020 decreased by 12.7% to RMB434.9 million (US$64.0 million).

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Gross Profit

Gross profit for the first nine months of 2020 decreased to RMB146.9 million (US$21.6 million) compared to RMB602.1 million for the same period of the prior year.

Operating Expenses

Total operating expenses for the first nine months of 2020 decreased by RMB107.2 million, or 24.4%, to RMB332.8 million (US$49.0 million) from RMB440.0 million for the same period of the prior year. Non-GAAP operating expenses for the first nine months of 2020 were RMB326.6 million (US$48.1 million).

Operating Income/(Loss)

The Company recorded an operating loss of RMB185.9 million (US$27.4 million) for the first nine months of 2020, compared with operating income of RMB162.1 million for the same period of the prior year. Non-GAAP operating loss for the first nine months of 2020 was RMB167.4 million (US$24.7 million), compared with non-GAAP operating income of RMB212.4 million for the same period of the prior year.

Interest Expense

Interest expense for the first nine months of 2020 decreased to RMB18.2 million (US$2.7 million) compared to RMB26.7 million for the same period of the prior year, due to the reduced outstanding balance and lower interest rates.

Other Income

Other income for the first nine months of 2020 was RMB21.2 million (US$3.1 million), compared with RMB9.2 million for the same period of the prior year. The increase in other income was due to the output value-added tax exemption during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Income Tax Expense/(Benefit)

Income tax benefit for the first nine months of 2020 was RMB26.7 million (US$3.9 million), compared with income tax expense of RMB61.9 million for the same period of the prior year.

Net Loss Attributable to RISE

Net loss attributable to RISE for the first nine months of 2020 was RMB133.9 million (US$19.7 million).

Non-GAAP net loss attributable to RISE for the first nine months of 2020 was RMB115.4 million (US$17.0 million).

EBITDA loss for the first nine months of 2020 was RMB99.9 million (US$14.7 million).

Adjusted EBITDA loss for the first nine months of 2020 was RMB94.7 million (US$13.9 million).

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Basic and Diluted Earnings per ADS

Basic and diluted net loss attributable to RISE per ADS was RMB2.37 (US$0.35) for the first nine months of 2020.

Basic and diluted non-GAAP net loss attributable to RISE per ADS was RMB2.05 (US$0.30) for the first nine months of 2020.

Cash Flow

Net cash outflow from operating activities for the first nine months of 2020 was RMB97.3 million (US$14.3 million), compared with RMB48.0 million for the same period of the prior year. The cash outflow for the first nine months of 2020 was mainly attributable to reduced cash collection from regular courses as a result of the temporary closure of self-owned and franchised learning centers; while the cash outflow for the same period of 2019 was mainly attributable to the change in the collection schedule for tuition fees to comply with certain regulatory requirements.

Business Outlook

While the adverse impact of pandemic on our business is expected to continue for certain period of time and the COVID-19 situation in China is constantly evolving, we believe that we have significantly improved our ability to cope with challenges in an uncertain environment and are well positioned to capture long-term growth opportunities. For the fourth quarter of 2020, we expect revenue to be in the range of RMB355 million to RMB365 million. The above forecast reflects our current and preliminary view, which is subject to substantial uncertainty.

Conference Call Information

RISE will hold a conference call on November 12, 2020 at 8:00 pm Eastern Time (or November 13, 2020 at 9:00 am Beijing Time) to discuss the financial results. Due to the impact of COVID-19, operator assisted conference calls are not available at the moment. All participants must preregister online prior to the call to receive the dial-in details.

Conference call preregistration link is https://apac.directeventreg.com/registration/event/7180429. Once preregistration has been completed, participants will receive dial-in numbers, an event passcode, and a unique registrant ID.

To join the conference, please dial the number you receive, enter the event passcode followed by your unique registrant ID, and you will be joined to the conference instantly.

A telephone replay will be accessible through November 19, 2020 by dialing the following numbers:

A live and archived webcast of the conference call, together with a copy of the presentation slides used for the conference call, will also be available at the Company’s investor relations website at http://ir.risecenter.com/.

Exchange Rate

This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars (“USD”) at a specified rate solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, all translations from RMB to USD were made at the rate of RMB6.7896 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect on September 30, 2020 in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. The Company makes no representation that the RMB or USD amounts referred to could be converted into USD or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all. For analytical presentation, all percentages are calculated using the numbers presented in the financial statements contained in this earnings release.

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About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement RISE’s financial results presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the Company uses non-GAAP financial measures, which are adjusted from results based on U.S. GAAP. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to U.S. GAAP financial measures are set forth in the table at the end of this earnings release entitled “Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results,” which provides more details on the non-GAAP financial measures.

Non-GAAP cost of revenues, non-GAAP operating expenses, including non-GAAP selling and marketing expenses and non-GAAP general and administrative expenses, provides the Company with an understanding of the results from the primary operations of the Company’s business by excluding the effects of certain transaction-related expenses that do not reflect the ordinary operating expenses of the Company’s operations and share-based compensation.

EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net income/(loss) provide the Company with an understanding of the results from the primary operations of the Company’s business by excluding the effects of certain transaction-related expenses that do not reflect the ordinary EBITDA and net income/(loss) of the Company’s operations.

The Company uses non-GAAP operating expenses, including non-GAAP selling and marketing expenses and non-GAAP general and administrative expenses, non-GAAP operating income/(loss), Non-GAAP operating margin, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income/(loss) attributable to RISE, and non-GAAP basic and diluted net income/(loss) per ADS attributable to RISE to evaluate the Company’s period-over-period operating performance because the Company’s management believes these provide a more comparable measure of the Company’s continuing business as it adjusts for transaction-related expenses that are not reflective of the normal earnings of the Company’s business. These measures may be useful to an investor in evaluating the underlying operating performance of the Company’s business, and to enhance investors’ overall understanding of the historical and current financial performance of the Company’s continuing operations and prospects for the future.

Non-GAAP financial information should not be considered a substitute for or superior to U.S. GAAP results. In addition, calculations of this non-GAAP financial information may be different from calculations used by other companies, and therefore comparability may be limited.

Non-GAAP cost of revenues exclude relevant share-based compensation expenses and amortization of certain intangible assets (“IA”) acquired as part of the 2013 acquisition from cost of revenues. Non-GAAP operating income/(loss) adds back share-based compensation expenses and amortization of certain intangible assets acquired as part of the 2013 acquisition. Each of non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP selling and marketing expenses or non-GAAP general and administrative expenses excludes relevant share-based compensation expenses and amortization of certain intangible assets acquired as part of the 2013 acquisition. EBITDA represents net income/(loss) before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

For more information on non-GAAP financial measures, please see the tables captioned “Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures.”

About RISE Education

RISE Education Cayman Ltd is a leading junior English Language Training (“ELT”) provider based in Beijing. Founded in 2007, the Company pioneered the application of the “subject-based learning” philosophy in China, which uses language arts, math, natural science, and social science to teach English in an immersive environment that helps students learn to speak and think like a native speaker. Through three flagship courses, Rise Start, Rise On, and Rise Up, and other complementary products, the Company provides ELT to students aged three to six, seven to twelve and thirteen to eighteen, respectively. The Company’s highly scalable business model includes both self-owned and franchised learning centers. For more information, please visit http://en.risecenter.com/.

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Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature. These statements, including the statements relating to the Company’s future financial and operating results, are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other things, management’s quotations and the Business Outlook section contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about RISE and the industry. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those relating to its ability to attract new students and retain existing students, its ability to maintain or enhance its brand, its ability to compete effectively against its competitors, its ability to execute its growth strategy, its ability to introduce new products or enhance existing products, its ability to obtain required licenses, permits, filings or registrations, its ability to grow or operate or effectively monitor its franchise business, quarterly variations in its operating results caused by factors beyond its control, macroeconomic conditions in China and government policies and regulations relating to its corporate structure, business and industry and their potential impact on its future business development, financial condition and results of operations. All information provided in this press release is as of the date hereof, and RISE undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although RISE believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that its expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. Further information regarding risks and uncertainties faced by RISE is included in RISE’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Investor Relations Contact

Karen Gu

RISE Education

Email: riseir@rdchina.net

Tel: +86 (10) 8559-9191

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RISE EDUCATION CAYMAN LTD

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands)

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RISE EDUCATION CAYMAN LTD

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(in thousands, except share and ADS data and per share and per ADS data)

Note 1: Each ADS represents two ordinary shares

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RISE EDUCATION CAYMAN LTD

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(in thousands, except share and ADS data and per share and per ADS data)

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RISE EDUCATION CAYMAN LTD

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP RESULTS

(in thousands, except ADS data and per ADS data)

Note 1: Each ADS represents two ordinary shares.

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