China’s Alibaba profit tumbles 86% though revenue beats estimates

China’s Alibaba Group Holding reported an 86% plunge in fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday primarily due to valuation changes from equity investments, pushing its US-listed shares down almost 6% in early trading even though revenue beat forecasts.

China’s Alibaba Group Holding reported an 86% plunge in fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday primarily due to valuation changes from equity investments, pushing its US-listed shares down almost 6% in early trading even though revenue beat forecasts. It also announced it would revive a plan first floated in 2022 to upgrade its secondary listing in Hong Kong to a primary listing, while retaining its primary listing in New York. It aims to complete this dual-primary listing by August. China’s largest e-commerce group by market share has had a tumultuous year since announcing the biggest shake-up in its 25-year history in March 2023, splitting into six units and refocusing on its core businesses, including domestic e-commerce. Consumers in China have also been spending carefully after the Covid-19 pandemic amid an economic slowdown and prolonged property slump. Alibaba’s focus on low-cost goods in response to the cautious consumer spending helped boost domestic e-commerce sales, driving 7% growth in overall revenue in the quarter to March 31. Group net income, however was 3.27 billion yuan ($452 million), compared with 23.52 billion yuan a year ago.