Alibaba reports flat quarter as e-commerce and online video lag
Alibaba reports “signs of recovery” as it posts flat results for the last quarter caused by the Shanghai lockdown and sluggish economy.
China's e-commerce giant Alibaba reports first ever flat quarter but claim signs of recovery
The Chinese e-commerce giant reported revenue of RMB 205.55bn ($30.68bn) and net income of RMB 22.73bn ($3.3bn) for the quarter ended June 30 2022. It is the first time the company has posted flat revenue growth.
The results beat analyst expectations, which predicted declines, and led to gains on the stock market, with shares jumping 2%.
Alibaba’s flat results can largely be attributed to the decline in revenue from its biggest business division, the China commerce division, which dropped 1 percent year-on-year due to the Covid-19 resurgence in China and the Shanghai lockdowns.
Alibaba’s Digital Media and Entertainment division, which includes Youku – referred to as China’s YouTube – and Alibaba Pictures, also reported declines in revenue, dropping 10% year-on-year to RMB7.2bn ($1bn).
However, Youku’s daily average paying subscriber base increased 15 percent year-on-year for the quarter, driven by the platform’s investment in quality content and VIP membership program.
Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba, said: “Following a relatively slow April and May, we saw signs of recovery across our businesses in June. We are confident in our growth opportunities in the long term given our high-quality consumer base and the resilience of our diversified business model catering to different demands of our customers.”