24/7 Space News
INTERNET SPACE
Alibaba quarterly revenue rises 2%: earnings report
Alibaba quarterly revenue rises 2%: earnings report
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Feb 23, 2023

China's Alibaba Group said Thursday its revenue rose two percent year-on-year in the quarter ending December 2022, as the internet giant shook off the impact of strict Covid containment measures and a slump in consumer demand.

The company recorded revenue of 248 billion yuan ($36 billion) for the three months through December, according to a quarterly earnings report.

"We delivered a solid quarter despite softer demand, supply chain and logistics disruptions due to impact of changes in Covid-19 measures," chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang said.

"Looking ahead, we expect continued recovery in consumer sentiment and economic activity," he added.

China maintained a strict zero-Covid policy until late last year, sticking fast to a strategy of snap lockdowns and lengthy quarantines even as they roiled global supply chains and smothered demand.

Beijing abruptly changed tack in December, lifting years-long curbs in a matter of days.

"During the past quarter, we continued to improve operating efficiency and cost optimisation that resulted in robust profit growth," said Alibaba's chief financial officer, Toby Xu.

"Our net cash position remains strong and we continue to generate healthy cash flow," he said.

- Tech troubles -

China's technology industry has been hit in recent years by a sweeping crackdown, with authorities pulling Alibaba finance affiliate Ant Group's planned 2020 IPO in Hong Kong at the last minute.

The government also later fined Alibaba a record $2.75 billion for alleged unfair practices.

Alibaba's billionaire founder Jack Ma retreated from public view after a public speech in 2020 accusing financial regulators of stifling growth.

He said in January he would cede control of Ant, which operates Alipay, the world's largest digital payments platform.

Alibaba's earnings data showed a three percent increase in revenue year-on-year for the quarter ending September 2022.

The company did not release full sales figures for its annual Singles Day shopping bonanza, for the first time ever.

The company in December said its business had tackled a "deteriorating macroeconomic backdrop, wild swings in financial markets and fluctuating geopolitical tensions" over the past year.

Combined revenue at China's internet companies shrank by just over one percent to 1.46 trillion yuan in 2022, the first contraction in almost a decade, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

But the crackdown appears to be easing as the country scrambles to boost economic growth battered by three years of zero-Covid restrictions.

Authorities in December said they would allow Ant to raise 10.5 billion yuan, while embattled ride-hailing company Didi last month began accepting new users for the first time since a 2021 ban on fresh registrations.

Chinese tech firms are now rushing into the AI chatbot field, inspired by the success of Silicon Valley's ChatGPT.

Alibaba this month said it was developing a ChatGPT-like conversation bot, which is being tested by employees.

mjw-tjx/reb/aha

Alibaba

Didi

Related Links
Satellite-based Internet technologies

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
INTERNET SPACE
China's Baidu says 2022 revenue fell 1%, flags 'Ernie' chatbot
Beijing (AFP) Feb 22, 2023
Chinese search giant Baidu reported Wednesday that revenue fell by one percent in 2022 but also said it will include its artificial intelligence chatbot Ernie in its search services from March. The firm posted revenue of 123.7 billion yuan ($17.9 billion) for the latest fiscal year, down from 124.5 billion in 2021. Baidu CEO Robin Li said the company plans to launch its AI chatbot Ernie in March and integrate it into several services, including search, its smart speaker Xiaodu, and its operating ... read more

INTERNET SPACE
SpaceX Dragon crewed flight to ISS pushed back 24 hours

Russia claims Progress leak caused by an "external impact"

Russian rescue mission for three space station astronauts set this week

Crew stuck on ISS to return to Earth in September: Russia

INTERNET SPACE
SpaceX Endeavour's crew arrive at KSC ahead of launch

Flight Crew Arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for Crew-6 Mission

Inmarsat-6 F2 marks 12th SpaceX launch of 2023

SpaceX faces a $175,000 penalty for failure to report launch data to FAA

INTERNET SPACE
Better tools needed to determine ancient life on Mars

Perseverance set to begin third year on Mars at Jezero Crater

Sols 3744-3745: The One That Got Away

When data show up late: Sols 3746-3748

INTERNET SPACE
China's space station experiments pave way for new space technology

China solicits logos for manned space missions in 2023

Two crews set for Tiangong station in '23

Large number of launches planned

INTERNET SPACE
New research models concept for data transport using train of satellites

Space Daily retools to AI/ML centric Content Management System

New transmitter design for small satellite constellations improves signal transmission

Vast acquires launcher to accelerate growth

INTERNET SPACE
Scientists identify new mechanism of corrosion

JEMCA, a new electron microscope center to advance in research into structural biology and new materials

Carbon-neutral pavements are possible by 2050

Low power Ka-band transmitters on Earth observation satellites

INTERNET SPACE
Very Large Telescope captures direct images of bright exoplanet

Does ice in the Universe contain the molecules making up the building blocks of life in planetary systems?

Four classes of planetary systems

Team Aims To Find Earth 2.0

INTERNET SPACE
Newly discovered form of salty ice could exist on surface of extraterrestrial moons

New aurorae detected on Jupiter's four largest moons

JUICE's final take-off before lift-off

A new ring system discovered in our Solar System

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.