Alibaba misses revenue estimates as e-commerce growth slows

[August 03, 2021]  (Reuters) -China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd reported first-quarter revenue on Tuesday that missed analysts' estimates, as its e-commerce business took a hit due to rising competition from smaller players such as JD.Com Inc and Pinduoduo Inc.

Alibaba's results mirror those of e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc in the United States, as easing of pandemic-related restrictions led to more consumers visiting stores than order online.

Core commerce revenue for Alibaba rose about 35% to 180.24 billion yuan in the reported quarter, compared with estimates of 184.23 billion yuan. In the fourth quarter, the unit's revenue was up more than 70%.

Overall, revenue rose about 34% to 205.74 billion yuan ($31.83 billion) in the first quarter ended June 30, below estimates of 209.39 billion yuan, according IBES data from Refinitiv.

Net income attributable to shareholders rose to 45.14 billion yuan, compared with 47.59 billion yuan, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned 16.60 yuan per share, above estimates of 14.43 yuan.

Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group, recorded a quarterly profit of about 13.48 billion yuan for the quarter ended March, according to the Chinese e-commerce giant's filing.

Alibaba, which holds about a third of Ant, posted a profit of 4.49 billion yuan for the quarter ended June 30 from its investments in the financial conglomerate.

($1 = 6.4628 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

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