Alibaba reports 61% growth of revenue in Q1

Alibaba said its revenue jumped 61 percent in the first quarter -- a usually low season for online transaction --as the e-commerce giant pushed forward convergence of online and offline resources to drive growth. 

Profit under non-GAAP rules jumped 35 percent to 14.1 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion) and core e-commerce revenue rose 62 percent to 51.3 billion yuan, it said in a stock exchange filing today. Total quarterly income added 61 percent to 61.9 billion yuan. 

“With new retail strategy, our e-commerce platform is developing into the leading retail infrastructure of China,” said Daniel Zhang, chief executive officer of Alibaba Group. 

The monthly mobile active users of China retail marketplace also added 37 million to 617 million thanks to the prevalence of smartphone shopping and payment. 

For the full fiscal year, core commerce segment recorded 60 percent annual growth, the highest revenue growth since its IPO in 2013 as a result of the expansion of global and cross-border retail marketplaces and more efficient targeting of consumer purchasing preferences. 

“We also doubled down on technology development, cloud computing, logistics, digital entertainment and local services so that we are in a position to capture consumption growth in China and other emerging markets,” Zhang added. 

Alibaba expected more than 60 percent revenue growth for the upcoming fiscal year starting April.