Cash-rich Alibaba to continue its spending spree
Quarterly net income rose 15.5pc to US$1.11 billion, in line with market expectations, as 29 million new active users signed up for mobile apps
Mainland e-commerce heavyweight Alibaba said it plans to continue its spending spree, with plenty of cash at hand, after releasing an earnings report for the quarter to the end of September that beat analyst estimates.
The company said it has made satisfying progress on its mobile platform, with its mobile business recording an extra 29 million active users during the three months.
"We extended our unrivalled leadership in mobile with 217 million monthly active users on our mobile commerce apps in September," chief executive Jonathan Lu Zhaoxi said. "We are also encouraged by continued improvement of mobile monetisation, which demonstrates the strong commercial intent of our users."
Chief financial officer Maggie Wei Wu said: "We continue to execute our focused growth strategy, and the fundamental strength of our business gives us the confidence to invest in new initiatives to add new users, improving engagement and customer experience."
It was the company's first quarterly report since its US$25 billion initial public offering in the US seven weeks ago. Revenue grew 53.7 per cent year on year to 16.83 billion yuan (HK$21.35 billion) - US$50 million more than analysts predicted in a poll by Thomson Reuters. Net income rose 15.5 per cent to US$1.11 billion, meeting forecasts.
Adjusted earnings per share for the second quarter were 2.79 yuan, the company said. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had predicted 2.74 yuan.
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of the company reached 110 billion yuan at the end of September, up from 43.6 billion yuan six months earlier.