Beijing
Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba said its net profit fell 88 percent in the first quarter of the year, but revenue beat analyst forecasts despite the disruptions caused by the coronavirus. The Hangzhou-based company said net profit fell to 3.16 billion yuan ($447 million) in January-March, compared to 25.83 billion yuan over the same period last year.
But company officials expressed optimism after revenue came at 114.31 billion yuan, nearly seven percent higher than the average forecast of analysts polled by Bloomberg. The pandemic emerged late last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, later spreading globally. Aggressive containment measures have largely tamed the outbreak in China and allowed economic activity to resume weeks ago, even as other nations continue to struggle. “Although the pandemic negatively impacted most of our domestic core commerce businesses starting in late January.—Reuters
