Alibaba reports slowest quarterly revenue growth, misses expectations

[SHANGHAI] China's Alibaba Group Holding on Thursday (Feb 24) reported its slowest-ever increase in quarterly revenue since going public in 2014, as tepid growth in its core e-commerce business and intensifying competition ate into sales.

The slowing Chinese economy has taken a toll on the e-commerce company, as consumers cut back discretionary spending. Last November, during its annual Singles' Day promotional event, the company recorded gross merchandise value growth of 8.5 per cent, a record low.

Alibaba is also facing intensifying pressure from rivals like TikTok-owned ByteDance and Kuaishou, who have capitalized on the booming trend of livestreaming e-commerce.

Net income attributable to shareholders slumped to 20.43 billion yuan in the third quarter from 79.43 billion yuan a year earlier.

Revenue rose about 10 per cent to 242.6 billion yuan (S$51.9 billion). Analysts on an average had expected revenue of 246.37 billion yuan, according to Refinitiv data. REUTERS