Alibaba.com, the world's largest business-to-business e-commerce site, reported a 37 per cent profit growth in the first quarter of this year, beating market expectations.
But the company, part of Hangzhou-based internet conglomerate Alibaba Group, which is 43 per cent owned by Yahoo, said business growth would slow as it focused on quality rather than quantity.
The Hong Kong-listed company said net profit in the first three months of this year reached 452.5 million yuan (HK$541 million), compared with 330 million yuan a year earlier. Alibaba's earnings beat an average forecast of 389.24 million yuan by Reuters.
Revenue climbed 25.5 per cent to 1.532 billion yuan. The first-quarter year-on-year sales growth slowed down from 37.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.
'We expect revenue to grow, but the rate will not be the same as in the previous years,' said chief executive Jonathan Lu Zhaoxi. 'The view of the revenue for coming quarters would be relatively flat compared to the first quarter, but it will represent continued growth from 2010.'
Alibaba.com connects small and medium-sized firms that have little or no marketing budget with buyers on vast trading websites. It operates in more than 240 markets worldwide.
The company's business largely hinges on mainland exports and its revenue comes mainly from paying members who use the site.