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Alibaba chairman Jack Ma stresses a point during a conference as the Chinese e-commerce giant is expected to report quarterly results this week in New York. Photo: Bloomberg

New | Alibaba quarterly results to show strong revenues, net profit modestly higher

“We believe Alibaba will deliver top-line growth that is either in line or beats the consensus [market analysts] expectations” - Alicia Yap, the head of China internet research at Barclays

Alibaba

Jack Ma Yun will likely shine some light on Alibaba Group’s latest global expansion and entertainment initiatives on Thursday, after the e-commerce giant reports its earnings in the three months to December in the United States.

New York-traded Alibaba this month has continued to pursue Ma’s aggressive investment strategy, with stakes purchased in Israeli start-up Visualead, mobile taxi-booking service KuaiDi Dache and marketing platform AdChina.

“We expect Alibaba to report solid results for its [fiscal] third quarter,” Alicia Yap, the head of China internet research at Barclays, said in a report. “We believe Alibaba will deliver top-line growth that is either in line or beats the consensus [market analysts] expectations.”

That optimism is backed by the new global record for one-day online sales set by Alibaba on November 11, when it raked in 57.1 billion yuan (HK$72.5 billion) of gross merchandise volume during the world’s biggest internet shopping festival — known as “Singles Day” on the mainland.

Alibaba’s “Double 11” campaign was helped by its decision to include, for the first time, merchants and consumers from more than 200 countries on its international shopping platforms, Tmall Global and AliExpress.

The Hangzhou-based company’s primary internet shopping platforms that support various online merchants on the mainland are Tmall.com and Taobao Marketplace.

Barclays forecast Alibaba to post total revenue of US$4.486 billion in the quarter ended December 31, up 47 per cent from US$3.058 billion a year earlier and a 64 per cent increase from US$2.742 billion the previous quarter.

Yap said Alibaba’s revenue growth also received a boost from higher commission income from Tmall and improved online advertising sales.

That prediction is higher than the US$4.45 billion average from analysts’ estimates gathered by Bloomberg.

Barclays, however, estimated fiscal third-quarter net profit of US$1.347 billion, compared with the US$1.349 billion reported by Alibaba the previous year. The Bloomberg consensus average was higher at US$1.425 billion.

Total number of active buyers on Alibaba’s business-to-business, business-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer buying platforms are estimated to grow to 314 million, up from 231 million a year ago and 307 million at the end of September.

A breakdown of Alibaba’s forecast fiscal third-quarter revenue showed that US$3.908 billion, or 87.1 per cent, came from its e-commerce business on the mainland, according to Barclays.

International operations accounted for US$295 million, or 6.6 per cent, of total forecast revenue during the period.

“Although revenue from the overseas retail marketplace might take some time to pick up, we believe Alibaba will continue to invest in key overseas markets for its business expansion,” Yap said.

She also expected Alibaba to step up its sales and marketing activities abroad to attract new users.

Alibaba last month reported that Tmall Global, a platform for Western retailers to sell directly to Chinese consumers, posted a tenfold sales increase in its first 10 months of operation. There are now 5,400 overseas brands from 25 countries and territories featured on Tmall Global.

In a report, Daiwa Capital Markets analyst John Choi said Alibaba’s steady growth will be mainly driven by the increase of active buyers on its various online platforms, as well as the rise in average spending per buyer.

Choi projected Alibaba’s active buyers to hit 603 million by the end of March 2017, with average spending per buyer reaching 6,897 yuan in the same period.

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