Alibaba boasts big revenue jump, grabs stake in Ant Financial
China’s largest e-commerce company had a big third quarter — and it is celebrating with a new investment.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017, Alibaba Group had a 56% increase in revenue compared to the same period in 2016, hitting $13.19 billion (U.S. dollars). Revenue from core commerce increased 57% year-over-year to $553 million (U.S. dollars) — a gain that coincides with the timing of the Singles' Day sale held on Nov. 11, the world's biggest sales event, according to Reuters.
Annual active consumers on its Chinese retail marketplaces reached 515 million, an increase of 27 million from the 12-month period ended September 30, 2017. Meanwhile, mobile monthly active users (MAUs) on its Chinese retail marketplaces reached 580 million in December 2017, an increase of 31 million over September 2017.
Net income rose 34.8%, to $1.41 per share or 24.07 billion yuan. This exceeded analyst expectations of 21.5 billion yuan surveyed by Thomson Reuter, according to Reuters.
The company has also expanded its physical footprint through its “New Retail” initiative. During the quarter, Alibaba expanded its Hema fresh grocery footprint with five new stores in Shanghai, Beijing, Ningbo and Suzhou, bringing the total number of Hema stores to 25 as of December 31, 2017.
In November, the e-commerce retailer formed a strategic alliance with Sun Art Group Limited, a leading Chinese hypermarket and supermarket chain with over 440 stores nationwide.
Alibaba is preparing for more gains with its plan to buy a 33% equity stake in Ant Financial, in exchange for certain intellectual property rights. There will be no cash impact to Alibaba following completion of the transaction, according to Alibaba.
The deal offers Alibaba a number of strategic benefits, including the opportunity to advance its New Retail strategy with mobile payments, increase user acquisition and retention through collaboration with the Alipay digital wallet, and enhance the execution of our international expansion.
“This transaction is a significant step for Alibaba to enhance our long-term strategic relationship with Ant Financial as we continue to pursue our mission to make it easy to do business anywhere,” said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group. “Importantly, an equity stake in Ant Financial enables Alibaba and our shareholders to participate in the future growth of the financial technology sector, as well as the benefits of user growth and improved customer experience.”
During the December 2017 quarter, Ant Financial continued to deliver rapid revenue growth from its key businesses, including digital payment, wealth management and consumer finance. In December, Alipay Wallet’s daily active users more than doubled on a year-over-year basis.
“We expect that Ant Financial will continue to invest to expand its market leadership in digital payment, develop new technologies for inclusive financial services, and accelerate its globalization strategy,” according to Alibaba.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017, Alibaba Group had a 56% increase in revenue compared to the same period in 2016, hitting $13.19 billion (U.S. dollars). Revenue from core commerce increased 57% year-over-year to $553 million (U.S. dollars) — a gain that coincides with the timing of the Singles' Day sale held on Nov. 11, the world's biggest sales event, according to Reuters.
Annual active consumers on its Chinese retail marketplaces reached 515 million, an increase of 27 million from the 12-month period ended September 30, 2017. Meanwhile, mobile monthly active users (MAUs) on its Chinese retail marketplaces reached 580 million in December 2017, an increase of 31 million over September 2017.
Net income rose 34.8%, to $1.41 per share or 24.07 billion yuan. This exceeded analyst expectations of 21.5 billion yuan surveyed by Thomson Reuter, according to Reuters.
The company has also expanded its physical footprint through its “New Retail” initiative. During the quarter, Alibaba expanded its Hema fresh grocery footprint with five new stores in Shanghai, Beijing, Ningbo and Suzhou, bringing the total number of Hema stores to 25 as of December 31, 2017.
In November, the e-commerce retailer formed a strategic alliance with Sun Art Group Limited, a leading Chinese hypermarket and supermarket chain with over 440 stores nationwide.
Alibaba is preparing for more gains with its plan to buy a 33% equity stake in Ant Financial, in exchange for certain intellectual property rights. There will be no cash impact to Alibaba following completion of the transaction, according to Alibaba.
The deal offers Alibaba a number of strategic benefits, including the opportunity to advance its New Retail strategy with mobile payments, increase user acquisition and retention through collaboration with the Alipay digital wallet, and enhance the execution of our international expansion.
“This transaction is a significant step for Alibaba to enhance our long-term strategic relationship with Ant Financial as we continue to pursue our mission to make it easy to do business anywhere,” said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group. “Importantly, an equity stake in Ant Financial enables Alibaba and our shareholders to participate in the future growth of the financial technology sector, as well as the benefits of user growth and improved customer experience.”
During the December 2017 quarter, Ant Financial continued to deliver rapid revenue growth from its key businesses, including digital payment, wealth management and consumer finance. In December, Alipay Wallet’s daily active users more than doubled on a year-over-year basis.
“We expect that Ant Financial will continue to invest to expand its market leadership in digital payment, develop new technologies for inclusive financial services, and accelerate its globalization strategy,” according to Alibaba.