Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has delivered what can only be described as astonishing figures and growth in the quarter ending 30th June. Here are some highlights, taken from their press release.
– Revenue was RMB50,184 million (US$7,403 million), an increase of 56% year-over-year.
– Revenue from core commerce increased 58% year-over-year to RMB43,027 million (US$6,347 million).
– Revenue from cloud computing increased 96% year-over-year to RMB2,431 million (US$359 million).
– Revenue from digital media and entertainment increased 30% year-over-year to RMB4,081 million (US$602 million).
– Annual active consumers (formerly annual active buyers) on our China retail marketplaces reached 466 million, an increase of 12 million from the 12-month period ended March 31, 2017.
Alibaba group CEO Daniel Zhang says: “Alibaba had a strong start to fiscal 2018, reflecting the strength and diversity of our businesses and the value we bring to customers on our platforms. Our technology is driving significant growth across our business and strengthening our position beyond core commerce. We are excited about the future as we continue to innovate and drive synergies among the businesses throughout the Alibaba ecosystem.”
CFO Maggie Wu added: “We delivered excellent results in the first quarter, with robust revenue growth of 56%. The significant growth in customer management revenue represents the differentiated business value we provide to our customers. It is our intention to continue investing in long-term growth opportunities, some of which are already delivering significant value to customers and investors.”
Alibaba was huge a year ago and now it’s half as big again. Its nearly impossible to cite a big company that’s on such a rapid trajectory. Amazon is in the running, needless to say, but Alibaba really does seem to have unstoppable momentum. We’ve written about Alibaba quite a bit of late.
Central to their growth is the dominant position Alibaba enjoys in China, the world’s most populous country. But their horizons look beyond China’s shores and the Alibaba/Amazon rivalry is hotting up. The next chapters will be most interesting as we observe the two titans clash. We’ll keep you posted.
