By CHENG Lu
Alibaba made 205 billion yuan (US$30.4 billion) last quarter, about the same as it did during the same period last year. Net profit (Non-GAAP) was down 30 percent year-over-year to 30.3 billion yuan. Adjusted EBITA also dropped 18 percent.
Revenue from China (including all retail e-commerce businesses) dropped 1 percent year-over-year to 142 billion yuan. GMVs on Taobao and Tmall were down in April and May – blamed on supply chain disruption during lockdowns. Sales picked up in June. More goods were sold on Tmall during this year’s 618 mid-year sales than last year’s.
Highlights are few and far between but include an 8 percent increase in direct sales mainly driven by snack and grocery sales; a 40 percent growth in manufacturer-to-consumer business. Online grocery business Taocaicai also lost less money than it did in the previous quarter.
Outside China, retail e-commerce revenue (Lazada, AliExpress, Trendyol and Daraz) was down 3 percent, but wholesale revenue was up 12 percent. The number of orders on Lazada and Trendyol increased by 10 percent and 46 percent respectively, but growth at Lazada has been slowing.
Sales of local consumer services (Ele.me, Amap and Fliggy) were up 5 percent but the number of orders was down 5 percent. Ele.me delivered less for restaurants but more for non-restaurant businesses.
Cainiao (logistics) added a new sorting center in Israel. Cloud added data centers in Thailand and Germany. Youku (videos) had 15 percent more paying subscribers than it did last year.
Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang said the company has been cutting costs and reducing losses.
Alibaba upsized its share buyback program in March on the grounds that it is undervalued. Alibaba shares closed almost flat on Thursday at US$97.
