Chinese tech giant Alibaba posts 5% quarterly revenue growth

The logo of Alibaba Group at its office in Beijing, China, Jan. 5, 2021. Photo by Reuters

The Hangzhou-based firm operates some of China's most widely used online shopping platforms, making its performance a bellwether for consumer sentiment.

Alibaba's revenue during the three-month quarter ending Sept. 30 totaled 236.5 billion yuan ($32.7 billion), the firm announced in a statement at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, up 5% from a year ago.

"Our revenue growth this quarter was driven by improving monetization of Taobao and Tmall Group... consistent with our strategy, we continue to invest in our core businesses while enhancing operational efficiency," said Alibaba's Chief Financial Officer Toby Xu.

But the figure came in lower than a Bloomberg forecast, which had anticipated year-on-year revenue growth of 6.5%.

Net income attributable to shareholders was at 43.9 billion yuan ($6.1 billion), up 58% from the same period in 2023.

The latest filing caps off a week that saw signs of rebounding consumption in China, including robust showings in the annual "Singles Day" shopping bonanza and October retail sales growth that was the fastest since February.

Alibaba and its major domestic competitor JD.com both announced strong performances on this year's Singles Day, though they withheld detailed sales totals.

JD.com posted accelerated third-quarter growth in a filing on Thursday, with revenue up 5.1% from the previous year.

The latest data and results are encouraging signs for Beijing, which has in recent weeks unveiled some of its most aggressive moves in years aimed at stimulating activity.

The new policies have included a debt swap programme to ease the burden on local governments, mortgage rate cuts and the elimination of certain restrictions on home purchases.

Alibaba -- founded by entrepreneur Jack Ma in 1999 -- launched the biggest restructuring in its history last year, splitting the group into six distinct entities and replacing CEO Daniel Zhang.

The reorganization came after several years of turbulence in China's tech sector as authorities cracked down on what was formerly a loosely regulated industry.

Uncertainty about the firm's future development has persisted ever since top leaders in Beijing scuttled a planned IPO of its financial services arm, Ant Group, in 2020.