Quarterly Earnings Slump Adds to Humiliation of Alibaba

variety.com:

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNet earnings at Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant and media owner, dropped by 50% to $3.40 billion (RMB22.7 billion) in the three months between April and June, the first quarter of its current financial year.

Revenues were unchanged at $30.7 billion (RMB206 billion). Using Alibaba’s preferred non-GAAP methodology for calculating profitability, the quarter’s net earnings still dropped by 30%, from RMB45.1 billion to RMB30.2 or $4.52 billion.

The figures, while not as awful as some analysts had predicted, added to a turbulent and uncomfortable period for an iconic company that was once one of China’s most widely admired enterprises.“During the past quarter, we actively adapted to changes in the macro environment and remained focused on our long-term strategy by continuing to strengthen our capability for customer value creation,” said Daniel Zhang, Alibaba’s chairman and CEO in a statement on Thursday.

Alibaba’s problems are a combination of the effects of China’s slowing growth and a political pincer movement that has crushed the country’s tech sector for nearly two years.