Alibaba Pictures says half-year revenue to shrink 35-40%

ALIBABA Pictures Group expects its unaudited revenue for the six months ended Sept 30 to decrease by about 35-40 per cent, from 1.5 billion yuan (S$305.3 million) in the year-ago period.

On the other hand, its net loss will likely narrow by about 55-60 per cent for the six months, from 390 million yuan in the corresponding period last year.

The dual-listed film company, which is under Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group and plans to delist from the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in December, said the expected revenue drop was primarily due to a 70 per cent plunge in revenue from the Internet-based promotion and distribution segment as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, the narrowing of its net loss was thanks to a 90 per cent decrease in selling and marketing expenses, from 658 million yuan a year ago, the company noted in a filing on Wednesday night.

Alibaba Pictures said that "despite facing severe challenges in the industry's overall operating conditions and the market environment" arising from the pandemic, the group retained "sufficient cash reserves and adequate inventory" of films and TV drama.

It will continue to focus on building infrastructure for the film and TV industry chain, and enhancing industry-wide digital capabilities.

The group remains optimistic about the growth of its business segments for the next six months.

Alibaba Pictures shares on the Singapore bourse last traded at HK1.05 on Monday.

In August, it said it planned to delist from SGX's mainboard on Dec 4, and the last day of trading for its shares in Singapore will be Nov 11. Following that, the stock will be publicly traded only on the Hong Kong bourse.

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