Alibaba Q4 Loss Sharply Widens

(RTTNews) - Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. (BABA) reported Thursday a net loss for the fourth quarter that sharply widened from last year, despite 9 percent growth in revenues, hurt by a decreases in the market prices of our equity investments in publicly-traded companies.

"Alibaba delivered on the goal of serving one billion annual active consumers in China this past quarter and achieved a record RMB 8,317 billion in global GMV for the fiscal year. Despite macro challenges that impacted supply chains and consumer sentiment, we continued to focus on customer value proposition and building the capabilities to deliver value," said Daniel Zhang, Chairman and CEO.

For the fourth quarter, Alibaba reported a net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of 16.24 billion Chinese yuan or $2.56 billion, sharply wider than last year's 5.48 billion yuan. Loss per ADS was 6.07 yuan or $0.96, compared to 1.99 yuan a year ago.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the quarter was 19.80 billion yuan or $3.12 billion, compared to prior year's 26.22 billion yuan. Adjusted earnings per ADS were 7.95 yuan or $1.25, compared to 10.32 yuan last year.

The company's revenue for the quarter rose 9 percent to 204.05 billion yuan or $32.19 billion from 187.40 billion yuan last year, primarily driven by the revenue growth of China commerce, Local consumer services and Cloud segments.

China commerce segment revenues grew 8 percent to 140.33 billion yuan or $22.14 billion, International commerce segment revenue improved 7 percent to 14.34 billion yuan or $2.26 billion, Local consumer services segment revenue rose 29 percent to 10.45 billion yuan or $1.65 billion, Cloud segment revenue increased 12 percent to 18.97 billion yuan or $2.99 billion and Cainiao segment revenue grew 16 percent to 11.58 billion yuan or $1.83 billion from last year.

Annual active consumers of Alibaba Group across the world reached approximately 1.31 billion for the twelve months ended March 31, 2022, an increase of 28.3 million from the twelve months ended December 31, 2021. This included over 1 billion consumers in China.

"Looking ahead, we will continue to execute on our multi-engine growth strategy by strengthening our digital infrastructure and focusing on quality growth to create long-term value for our customers, shareholders and other stakeholders across our ecosystem," Zhang added.

However, the company added that it is prudent at this time not to give financial guidance as it typically does at the start of the fiscal year, considering the risks and uncertainties arising from COVID-19. Since mid-March 2022, its domestic businesses have been significantly affected by the COVID-19 resurgence in China, particularly in Shanghai.

In fiscal year 2023, the company said its operating principles include focusing on sustainable, high-quality revenue growth and optimizing its cost structure to enhance overall return.