Team News Riveting
Hangzhou-based Chinese online retail giant Alibaba had posted a 124 per cent increase in profit in June quarter amidst threat from not only American President Donald Trump but also domestic players.
Speculation that Alibaba could be next on Washington’s hit list recently surfaced, as US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he could exert pressure on more Chinese companies after short video app operator TikTok. The bigger challenge is however coming from its own backyard for now.
China’s economy is among the world’s fastest to recover from the pandemic, aided by strict virus control measures and a rebound in industrial output and consumer sentiment. The online retailer JD rode this bounce-back to its fastest pace of sales growth and new customer additions in two years that had posed challenge for Alibaba.
Despite adversity, the company posted a 124 per cent increase in profit and strong domestic retail sales in the June quarter. With a reported 34 per cent increase in revenue to 153.7 billion yuan (US$21.8 billion) in the first quarter of its new financial year, the company recorded the growth from 114.9 billion yuan registered in the same period a year ago.
The net income jumped 124 per cent to 47.6 billion yuan in the quarter ended June 30, from 21.2 billion yuan a year earlier, to beat the consensus estimate of 36 billion yuan. The increase in the market prices of Alibaba’s equity investments in publicly-traded companies during the quarter had resulted in the net gain.
