HANGZHOU, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--$BABA #alibaba--Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA and HKEX: 9988 (HKD Counter) and 89988 (RMB Counter), “Alibaba” or “Alibaba Group”) today announced its financial results for the quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2024.

“This quarter’s results demonstrate that our strategies are working and we are returning to growth. Our China and international commerce businesses realized double-digit year-over-year GMV growth through our focus on the customer experience. We are also excited by the accelerated growth of customers and cloud computing revenues related to our AI products. We will remain focused on our strategic priorities and capture future growth opportunities,” said Eddie Wu, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group.

“Alibaba Group delivered a strong quarter with revenue growth of 7% year-over-year. We’ve seen early results from increased investment in our strategic business priorities and are confident in our business outlook. We are committed to continuing to return value to our shareholders. During fiscal year 2024, we repurchased US$12.5 billion of shares and our board of directors has approved a US$4.0 billion dividend for fiscal year 2024,” said Toby Xu, Chief Financial Officer of Alibaba Group.

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

In the quarter ended March 31, 2024:

• Revenue was RMB221,874 million (US$30,729 million), an increase of 7% year-over-year.

• Income from operations was RMB14,765 million (US$2,045 million), a decrease of 3% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITA, a non-GAAP measurement, decreased 5% year-over-year to RMB23,969 million (US$3,320 million), primarily attributable to increased investments in our e-commerce businesses and retention incentives granted to Cainiao employees.

• Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB3,270 million (US$453 million). Net income was RMB919 million (US$127 million), a decrease of 96% or RMB21,077 million year-over-year, primarily attributable to a net loss from our investments in publicly-traded companies during the quarter, compared to a net gain in the same quarter last year, due to the mark-to-market changes. Excluding share-based compensation expense, gains/losses of investments, impairment of intangible assets, and certain other items, non-GAAP net income in the quarter ended March 31, 2024 was RMB24,418 million (US$3,382 million), a decrease of 11% compared to RMB27,375 million in the same quarter of 2023.

• Diluted earnings per ADS was RMB1.30 (US$0.18) and diluted earnings per share was RMB0.16 (US$0.02 or HK$0.18). Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS was RMB10.14 (US$1.40), a decrease of 5% year-over-year and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was RMB1.27 (US$0.18 or HK$1.40), a decrease of 5% year-over-year.

• Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB23,340 million (US$3,233 million), a decrease of 26% compared to RMB31,401 million in the same quarter of 2023. Free cash flow, a non-GAAP measurement of liquidity, was RMB15,361 million (US$2,127 million), a decrease of 52% compared to RMB32,267 million in the same quarter of 2023. The year-over-year decrease in free cash flow mainly reflected the increase in capital expenditure during the quarter, the majority of which reflected our investments in Alibaba Cloud infrastructure, as well as a special dividend of RMB10,519 million from Ant Group in the same quarter of 2023.

In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024:

• Revenue was RMB941,168 million (US$130,350 million), an increase of 8% year-over-year.

• Income from operations was RMB113,350 million (US$15,699 million), an increase of 13% year-over-year. The year-over-year increase was primarily attributable to an increase in adjusted EBITA and a decrease in share-based compensation expense, partly offset by the increase in impairment of intangible assets and goodwill. During the fiscal year, impairment of intangible assets was mainly related to Sun Art, while the impairment of goodwill was mainly related to Youku. Adjusted EBITA, a non-GAAP measurement (excluding share-based compensation expense, impairment of intangible assets and goodwill and certain other items), increased 12% year-over-year to RMB165,028 million (US$22,856 million).

• Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB79,741 million (US$11,044 million). Net income was RMB71,332 million (US$9,879 million), an increase of 9% or RMB5,759 million year-over-year, primarily attributable to the increase in income from operations, partly offset by the increase in net loss from our equity investments due to mark-to-market changes. Excluding share-based compensation expense, gains/losses of investments, impairment of intangible assets and goodwill, and certain other items, non-GAAP net income in fiscal year 2024 was RMB157,479 million (US$21,811 million), an increase of 11% compared to RMB141,379 million in fiscal year 2023.

• Diluted earnings per ADS was RMB31.24 (US$4.33) and diluted earnings per share was RMB3.91 (US$0.54 or HK$4.31). Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS was RMB62.23 (US$8.62), an increase of 14% year-over-year and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was RMB7.78 (US$1.08 or HK$8.58), an increase of 14% year-over-year.

• Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB182,593 million (US$25,289 million), a decrease of 9% compared to RMB199,752 million in fiscal year 2023. Free cash flow, a non-GAAP measurement of liquidity, was RMB156,210 million (US$21,635 million), a decrease of 9% compared to RMB171,663 million in fiscal year 2023. The year-over-year decrease mainly reflected special dividends of RMB14,464 million from Ant Group in fiscal year 2023 and changes in working capital, partially offset by the year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITA.

Reconciliations of GAAP measures to non-GAAP measures presented above are included at the end of this results announcement.

BUSINESS AND STRATEGIC UPDATES

Taobao and Tmall Group

Under our strategy to put users first and develop systems for brands, merchants and industrial belt manufacturers to operate with high efficiency on our platform, we aim to provide a shopping experience that satisfies all aspects of consumption needs with quality products and services at attractive prices. We are increasing strategic investment in areas such as price competitive product supplies, customer service, membership program benefits and technology, aiming to enhance user experience, which resulted in improved consumer retention and higher purchase frequency.

Our strategy of price-competitiveness and focus on user experience is yielding results. During the quarter, we achieved double-digit online GMV and order growth year-over-year, driven by strong increase in the number of purchasers and purchase frequency.

Importantly, the number of 88VIP members increased by double digits year-over-year, surpassing 35 million during the quarter. We will continue to increase the subscription of 88VIP membership among our premium shoppers by improving customer service and enhancing program benefits.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2024, revenue from Taobao and Tmall Group grew 4% year-over-year to RMB93,216 million (US$12,910 million). Notably, customer management revenue grew 5% year-over-year, driven by robust revenue growth from search and recommendations.

Cloud Intelligence Group

For the quarter ended March 31, 2024, revenue from Cloud Intelligence Group was RMB25,595 million (US$3,545 million), a growth of 3% year-over-year.

We are committed to our strategy of focusing on high quality revenues from increasing public cloud adoption while reducing low-margin project-based contracts. During the quarter, our core public cloud offerings, which include products such as elastic compute, database and AI products, recorded double-digit year-over-year growth in revenue. Overall revenue excluding Alibaba-consolidated subsidiaries decreased slightly year-over-year as we transition away from low-margin project-based revenues. We expect the strong revenue growth in public cloud and AI-related products will offset the impact of the roll-off of project-based revenues.

The cost benefits from our infrastructure scale and advanced technologies enabled us to reduce prices across more than 100 public cloud products this quarter. Our goal is to enhance cost efficiency for our customers and boost public cloud adoption in China. In April 2024, we extended these price reductions to our overseas public cloud offerings, further improving our competitiveness in global markets.

During this quarter, AI-related revenue experienced accelerated growth and continued to record triple-digit growth year-over-year. AI-related revenue was generated from various sectors including foundational model companies, Internet companies, as well as customers from industries such as financial services and automotive.

Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group (“AIDC”)

For the quarter ended March 31, 2024, revenue from AIDC grew 45% year-over-year to RMB27,448 million (US$3,802 million), and the combined orders of AIDC’s marketplaces grew 20% year-over-year. The strong performance was driven by growth of AIDC’s cross-border businesses, in particular growth contributed by the Choice business on AliExpress. We are committing more resources to cross-border e-commerce because of the clear customer value proposition of price competitiveness and timely delivery to consumers around the world. To further expand our geographic footprint and deliver differentiated services to a broader customer base, we increased investments in our cross-border initiatives this quarter.

During the quarter, AliExpress continued to deliver robust year-over-year order growth, driven by Choice, which provides price competitiveness and high delivery speed to customers. Synergies between AliExpress and the cross-border logistics operations of Cainiao have further strengthened AliExpress’ competitiveness with both the 5-day and 10-day delivery completion rates doubling year-over-year. We increased our investment in key markets to enhance customer experience, expand consumer base and strengthen our market position. Choice represented around 70% of AliExpress’ total orders in April 2024.

During the quarter, Trendyol continued its double-digit order growth. While maintaining its leading e-commerce position in Türkiye, Trendyol has further expanded its cross-border business in the Gulf region. Since the launch of Trendyol’s cross-border initiatives, we increased our investment in customer experience by expanding merchandise categories as well as providing speedy and reliable delivery. As a result, Trendyol has become one of the most downloaded e-commerce apps in the Gulf region during the quarter.

Lazada continued to focus on improving its operating efficiency. With further increased monetization and optimized operations, Lazada’s loss per order narrowed significantly year-over-year during the quarter.

Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Limited (“Cainiao”)

For the quarter ended March 31, 2024, revenue from Cainiao grew 30% year-over-year to RMB24,557 million (US$3,401 million), primarily driven by revenue from cross-border fulfillment services supporting AliExpress.

In March, Cainiao withdrew its initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in order to align its business to better realize strategic synergies with our e-commerce businesses. This will enable Cainiao to work more closely with AliExpress to strengthen its comprehensive end-to-end cross-border delivery capabilities. During the quarter, Cainiao extended its premium delivery (i.e., five to ten-day delivery) to four additional countries, bringing the total coverage to 14 countries.

Cainiao will continue to execute its strategy of building a global smart logistics network, leveraging its e-commerce insights and proprietary technology to optimize efficiency in first-mile pick-up, line haul, customs clearance, sortation, and last-mile delivery.

Local Services Group

For the quarter ended March 31, 2024, revenue from Local Services Group grew by 19% year-over-year to RMB14,628 million (US$2,026 million), driven by both Ele.me and Amap. During this quarter, the number of Ele.me orders grew strongly year-over-year, resulting from increasing transacting users and purchase frequency. Amap’s business grew rapidly during this quarter, benefiting from mobility services and “To-Destination” services. For this quarter, Local Services Group’s losses continued to narrow year-over-year due to improving business scale and efficiency.

Digital Media and Entertainment Group

During the quarter ended March 31, 2024, revenue of Digital Media and Entertainment Group was RMB4,945 million (US$685 million), a decrease of 1% year-over-year due to a modest decline in Youku’s revenue. Alibaba Pictures’ movie business revenue grew, while revenue of its online ticketing platform for live events, Damai, grew rapidly year-over-year.

Share Repurchases

During the quarter ended March 31, 2024, we repurchased a total of 524 million ordinary shares (equivalent of 65 million ADSs) for a total of US$4.8 billion. These purchases were made in both the U.S. and Hong Kong markets under our share repurchase program. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, we repurchased a total of 1,249 million ordinary shares (equivalent of 156 million ADSs) for a total of US$12.5 billion.

As of March 31, 2024, we had 19,469 million ordinary shares (equivalent of 2,434 million ADSs) outstanding, a net decrease of 520 million ordinary shares during the quarter, or a 2.6% net reduction in our outstanding shares after accounting for shares issued under our equity incentive plan. For the full fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, our share repurchase program resulted in a net decrease of 1,057 million ordinary shares, or a 5.1% net reduction in our outstanding shares after accounting for shares issued under our equity incentive plan.

Dividends

Our board of directors has approved a two-part dividend comprised of (i) an annual regular cash dividend for fiscal year 2024 in the amount of US$0.125 per ordinary share or US$1.00 per ADS, and (ii) a one-time extraordinary cash dividend as a distribution of proceeds from disposition of certain financial investments in the amount of US$0.0825 per ordinary share or US$0.66 per ADS, in each case payable in U.S. dollars, to holders of ordinary shares and holders of ADSs, as of the close of business on June 13, 2024, Hong Kong Time and New York Time, respectively. The aggregate amount of the dividend will be approximately US$4.0 billion.

For holders of ordinary shares, in order to qualify for the dividend, all valid documents for the transfers of shares accompanied by the relevant share certificates must be lodged with the Company’s Hong Kong branch share registrar, Computershare Hong Kong Investor Services Limited, at Shops 1712-1716, 17th Floor, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong, not later than 4:30 p.m. on June 13, 2024, Hong Kong Time. The payment date is expected to be on or around July 3, 2024 for holders of ordinary shares and on or around July 12, 2024 for holders of ADSs.

Update on Progress of Voluntary Conversion to Dual Listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange

We have been preparing for our primary listing in Hong Kong and currently expect to complete this conversion by the end of August 2024. We will make a further announcement on the primary conversion date in due course.

CHANGES OF BUSINESS GROUP DIRECTORS AND CEOS

Our board of directors has approved certain changes to the directors and CEOs of the six major business groups. As of the date of this announcement, the directors and CEOs of the six major business groups are:

MARCH QUARTER SEGMENT RESULTS

Revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2024 was RMB221,874 million (US$30,729 million), an increase of 7% year-over-year compared to RMB208,200 million in the same quarter of 2023.

Starting from the quarter ended June 30, 2023, we have implemented a new organizational structure which includes six major business groups and various other businesses (the “Reorganization”). Our segment reporting has been updated to reflect our Reorganization and how our chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) review information under our new structure.

The following table sets forth a breakdown of our revenue by segment for the periods indicated⁽¹⁾:

Contacts

Investor Relations Contact


Rob Lin

Head of Investor Relations

Alibaba Group Holding Limited

[email protected]

Media Contacts


Cathy Yan

[email protected]

Ivy Ke

[email protected]

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