Alibaba reports annualized revenue growth of 30% in the second quarter.
The e-commerce giant’s net profit slipped to £3.33 billion in the second quarter.
Alibaba had 757 million active annual customers at the end of the second quarter.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) said Thursday that its second quarter fiscal profit was better than expected as consumer spending has improved in recent months after months of disruption due to the coronavirus pandemic.
At £227 per share, Alibaba is currently up more than 35% from its year-to-date high in the stock market after recovering from a low of £135 per share. By comparison, the company’s shares were trading at £168 per share at the beginning of the year.
Alibaba Group’s financial results for Q2 compared to analysts’ estimates
In terms of revenue, Alibaba reported annualized growth of 30% to £17.94 billion in the second quarter. According to FactSet, experts had predicted lower revenues of £17.91 billion for the e-commerce giant in the second quarter.
Chief Financial Officer Maggie Wu commented on Thursday’s earnings report and said
“Our core domestic retail business continued to grow steadily during the post-COVID 19 environment in China due to increased purchase frequency and higher consumer spending.
Total core trading revenues, Alibaba said, also jumped to £15.14 billion in the last quarter.
At £3.33 billion, the Chinese conglomerate’s net profit in the second quarter was well below the £8.39 billion in the same quarter last year. In the previous quarter (Q1), Alibaba had recorded net profit growth of over 100% year-on-year, according to the report published at the end of August.
Earnings per American Depositary Share (ADS) for the second quarter were £2.08. The FactSet consensus for earnings per ADS was a lower £1.60.
Alibaba had 757 million active annual customers at the end of the second quarter.
At the end of the second quarter in September, Alibaba had 757 million active customers per year, compared to 693 million in the first quarter of the fiscal year.
In this context, it is worth mentioning that the listing of the Fintech company Ant Group, which is affiliated with Alibaba, was suspended due to last-minute concerns expressed by Chinese regulatory authorities earlier this week. Otherwise, Ant Group should start trading on Thursday.
Alibaba’s stake in the Fintech giant is 33%. According to Susquehanna analyst Youssef Squali, the suspension of Ant’s IPO has no direct impact on Alibaba’s business.
Alibaba’s shares, which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, performed quite positively on the stock market last year with an annual profit of more than 55%. At the time of writing, the Chinese e-commerce giant is valued at £611.59 billion and has a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97.
