Alibaba’s second-quarter revenue jumps high

Alibaba’s second-quarter revenue grew 54 per cent year on year, reaching RMB 85.1 billion ($US12.3 billion). Net income attributable to shareholders was RMB 20 billion ($2.9 billion), a 13 per cent year-on-year increase. “Alibaba had another strong quarter of rapid growth,” said Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang.

“Annual active customers increased by 25 million to reach 601 million in the year ended September 30.”

“Annual active customers increased by 25 million to reach 601 million in the year ended September 30.”

Alibaba’s cloud-computing arm saw 90 per cent year-on-year growth to RMB 5.6 billion, launching more than 600 products and features during the quarter ranging from big data analytics, AI application innovation, security and internet-of-things enhancements.

The business’s online Tmall operations saw a 30 per cent increase in gross merchandise value, driven by improved conversion rates and increased traffic in the fast-moving consumer goods, home furnishings and apparel categories.

Alibaba’s New Retail strategy has continued to pay off across its Hema supermarkets network, with stores that have been in operation for at least 1.5 years seeing online sales account for 60 per cent of turnover for the September quarter. By the end of the quarter, 77 Hema stores had been opened in China.

The group has dropped its forecast revenue guidance for the full year by 4 to 6 per cent to between RMB 375 billion and RMB 383 billion. As it stands, the group expects revenue to grow by 54 to 56 per cent.