Alibaba Group Announces December Quarter 2022 Results

HANGZHOU, China–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$BABA #alibaba–Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA and HKEX: 9988, �Alibaba” or “Alibaba Group”) today announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2022.

“We delivered a solid quarter despite softer demand, supply chain and logistics disruptions due to impact of changes in COVID-19 measures,” said Daniel Zhang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group. “Looking ahead, we expect continued recovery in consumer sentiment and economic activity. We are focused on driving growth for our customers amid the competitive landscape, and creating sustainable, long-term value for our shareholders.”

“During the past quarter, we continued to improve operating efficiency and cost optimization that resulted in robust profit growth,” said Toby Xu, Chief Financial Officer of Alibaba Group. “Our net cash position remains strong and we continue to generate healthy cash flow. During the quarter ended December 31, 2022, we repurchased 45.4 million ADSs for approximately US$3.3 billion under our share repurchase program as part of our ongoing commitment to improve our shareholder return.”

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

In the quarter ended December 31, 2022:

• Revenue was RMB247,756 million (US$35,921 million), an increase of 2% year-over-year.
• Income from operations was RMB35,031 million (US$5,079 million), an increase of 396% or RMB27,963 million year-over-year, primarily due to a RMB22,427 million decrease in impairment of goodwill in relation to Digital media and entertainment segment. We excluded impairment of goodwill from our non-GAAP measurements. Adjusted EBITA, a non-GAAP measurement, was RMB52,048 million (US$7,546 million), an increase of 16% year-over-year.
• Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB46,815 million (US$6,788 million). Net income was RMB45,746 million (US$6,633 million), an increase of 138% or RMB26,522 million year-over-year, primarily due to a RMB22,427 million decrease in impairment of goodwill in relation to Digital media and entertainment segment. Non-GAAP net income was RMB49,932 million (US$7,239 million), an increase of 12% year-over-year.
• Diluted earnings per ADS was RMB17.91 (US$2.60) and diluted earnings per share was RMB2.24 (US$0.32 or HK$2.51). Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS was RMB19.26 (US$2.79), an increase of 14% year-over-year and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was RMB2.41 (US$0.35 or HK$2.70), an increase of 14% year-over-year.
• Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB87,370 million (US$12,668 million), an increase of 9% compared to RMB80,366 million in the same quarter of 2021. Free cash flow, a non-GAAP measurement of liquidity, was RMB81,514 million (US$11,818 million), an increase of 15% compared to RMB71,022 million in the same quarter of 2021.

BUSINESS AND STRATEGIC UPDATES

China Commerce

China commerce segment mainly includes our China commerce retail businesses such as Taobao, Tmall, Taobao Deals, Taocaicai, Freshippo, Tmall Supermarket, Sun Art, Tmall Global and Alibaba Health, as well as wholesale businesses including 1688.com.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2022, online physical goods GMV generated on Taobao and Tmall, excluding unpaid orders, declined mid-single-digit year-over-year, mainly due to soft consumption demand and ongoing competition as well as a surge in COVID-19 cases in China that resulted in supply chain and logistics disruptions in December. The declining GMV was driven by weakening demand in fashion & accessories category, which was partially offset by accelerating growth for healthcare, pet care and fresh produce, as well as narrowing decline for consumer electronics category.

Taobao Deals, our value-for-money platform, continues to enrich product supply and enhance digital consumption experience for price sensitive consumers. Taobao Deals has continued to help an expanding base of manufacturers to sell directly to consumers (M2C) and, in the December quarter, paid GMV of M2C products grew more than 35% year-over-year on Taobao and Taobao Deals. Taocaicai continues to drive category penetration in high purchase frequency categories of groceries and fresh produce on our China retail marketplaces. During the quarter, both Taobao Deals and Taocaicai continued to narrow losses year-over-year by optimizing user acquisition and improving overall operating efficiency.

During the quarter ended December 31, 2022, our direct sales and others revenue grew 10% year-over-year to RMB74,421 million (US$10,790 million), primarily driven by strong revenue growth of Freshippo and Alibaba Health. Freshippo delivered double-digit same store sales growth and expanded its digital and physical footprints in targeted cities throughout China during the quarter. It also continued to strengthen its merchandising capability, improve delivery efficiency and enhance operations that contributed to higher gross margin and significant loss reduction year-over-year in the quarter. Benefitting from surging demand for medical and healthcare products due to COVID-19 resurgence in December, Alibaba Health achieved rapid year-over-year revenue growth during the quarter.

International Commerce

Our International commerce retail businesses include Lazada, AliExpress, Trendyol and Daraz. During the December quarter, the combined order growth of Lazada, AliExpress, Trendyol and Daraz was 3% year-over-year, primarily driven by the robust order growth of Trendyol.

During the quarter, the decline in AliExpress orders continued to narrow compared to prior quarters. AliExpress continues to improve consumer experience by strengthening its cross-border delivery capabilities in partnership with Cainiao. Cross-border delivery lead time has significantly improved in strategic countries.

In Southeast Asia, Lazada saw recovering order growth that was up slightly year-over-year. Lazada continues to improve monetization rate by offering more value-added services and to enhance operating efficiency. During the quarter, losses per order for Lazada continued to improve compared to the same period last year.

Trendyol delivered a robust year-over-year order growth in the December quarter that was driven by rapid growth of its local consumer service business and strong growth of its e-commerce business.

Local Consumer Services

Local consumer services segment includes “To-Home” and “To-Destination” businesses. For the quarter ended December 31, 2022, Local consumer services order volume growth was flat year-over-year. Segment losses continued to narrow driven by improving business efficiency of Ele.me.

To-Home

During the quarter, Ele.me continued to deliver positive GMV growth driven by higher average order value and improving year-over-year order growth that turned positive in the month of December. As COVID-19 restrictions eased in December 2022, Ele.me was able to adapt quickly to meet surging demands for groceries and medicine, and the robust growth of these non-restaurant orders with higher order value drove the increase in the overall average order value of Ele.me. For the quarter ended December 31, 2022, Ele.me’s unit economics per order continued to be positive due to increased average order value as well as reduced delivery cost per order year-over-year.

To-Destination

In the quarter ended December 31, 2022, order volume of “To-Destination” businesses slowed in the month of December, which was negatively impacted by rising COVID-19 cases throughout China. In January 2023, as COVID-19 cases stabilized and travel demand improved, Amap saw recovering demand for its usage, and Fliggy’s outbound travel business grew rapidly as well.

Cainiao

In the quarter ended December 31, 2022, revenue from Cainiao, before inter-segment elimination, grew 17% year-over-year to RMB23,023 million (US$3,338 million) of which 72% was generated from external customers. Revenue from Cainiao, after inter-segment elimination, grew 27% year-over-year to RMB16,553 million (US$2,400 million), primarily contributed by the increase in revenue from domestic consumer logistics services as a result of service model upgrade since late 2021 to enhance customer experience, and international fulfillment solution services.

Cainiao continues to expand its international logistics network by strengthening its end-to-end logistics capabilities, including eHubs, line-haul, sorting centers and last-mile network. In the quarter ended December 31, 2022, Cainiao commenced operation of five new international sorting centers, bringing the number of overseas sorting centers in operation to fifteen.

In China, Cainiao continues to expand its door-step delivery services for our China commerce consumers. During the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival period, peak daily door-step deliveries exceeded 18 million, including those delivered directly to door or through Cainiao Post.

Cloud

Our Cloud segment comprises Alibaba Cloud and DingTalk. For the quarter ended December 31, 2022, total revenue from our Cloud segment before inter-segment elimination, which includes revenue from services provided to other Alibaba businesses, was RMB26,693 million (US$3,870 million). For the quarter ended December 31, 2022, revenue after inter-segment elimination grew 3% year-over-year to RMB20,179 million (US$2,925 million) mainly driven by healthy public cloud growth, partially offset by declining hybrid cloud revenue, as we continue to drive high-quality, recurring revenue growth.

During the quarter, after inter-segment elimination, revenue from non-Internet industries grew 9% year-over-year and contributed 53% of overall Cloud revenue. The non-Internet revenue growth was mainly driven by solid growth of revenue from financial services, education and automobile industries, which was partially offset by the decline in revenue from public services industry. Revenue from customers in the Internet industry declined by 4% year-over-year, mainly driven by declining revenue from the top Internet customer that has gradually stopped using our overseas cloud services for its international business, partially offset by improving demands from other customers in China’s Internet industry.

Alibaba Cloud continues to develop, expand and support our partners to better serve our enterprise customers. Highlights during the quarter ended December 31, 2022 include:

• Data Centers and Hardware: In December 2022, Alibaba Cloud continues to ramp up its international presence and commenced operation of its third data center in Japan to support the growing cloud service demands from customers in the country. As we added new data centers in Saudi Arabia, Germany, Thailand, South Korea and Japan in 2022, Alibaba Cloud now offers computing services in 28 regions and 86 availability zones globally.
• Public Cloud: Alibaba Cloud was recognized as a leader among the eleven Chinese public cloud providers evaluated in the Forrester report (The Forrester Wave™ Public Cloud Development and Infrastructure Platforms in China, Q4 2022) published in December 2022. Alibaba Cloud received the highest score in product offerings and product strategies.

Digital Media and Entertainment

In the December quarter, Youku’s daily average paying subscriber base increased 2% year-over-year, primarily driven by quality content and continued contribution from our 88VIP membership program. Youku continues to improve operating efficiency through disciplined investment in content and production capability, which resulted in narrowing of losses year-over-year for seven consecutive quarters.

Updates on ESG Initiatives

China Rural Village COVID-19 Relief Support

COVID-19 resurged in China towards the end of 2022, and we leveraged our digital, supply, and logistics capabilities to support a smooth recovery for those in need.

• Alibaba Health: Alibaba Health launched 24-hour online consultations for patients. Alibaba Health also supported the timely delivery of medicines and medical supplies in more than 20 regions in different cities and provinces.

• Oximeter donation: In January 2023, we cooperated with the China Social Entrepreneur Foundation and donated RMB125 million (US$18.1 million) through the Alibaba Foundation to procure two finger-clip oximeters for each of more than 600,000 village clinics. Cainiao shipped more than one million oximeters within four days. The initiative was completed before Chinese New Year and helped address the pain points of low level of medical care and resources in rural areas.

Türkiye Earthquake Emergency Relief

On February 6, 2023, two huge earthquakes struck Türkiye. We quickly established an emergency working group to monitor the safety of our employees in the region and delivered urgently needed supplies to support local disaster relief activities. Trendyol mobilized its resources to aid in disaster relief, including sourcing urgently needed supplies, leveraging its logistics capabilities to deliver to disaster-hit areas, and helping raise donations from the global community as part of the “Türkiye Earthquake Solidarity Campaign” to support NGOs providing disaster relief on the ground. Alibaba helped deliver winter supplies from China, including sleeping bags and outdoor jackets, to disaster victims in Türkiye, and helped build a digital disaster relief platform, which the Chinese Red Cross Foundation used to more effectively and efficiently coordinate Chinese organizations to participate in earthquake relief efforts.

Share Repurchases

During the quarter ended December 31, 2022, we repurchased 45.4 million ADSs (the equivalent of 363.3 million ordinary shares) for approximately US$3.3 billion under our share repurchase program. As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately 20.7 billion ordinary shares (the equivalent of 2.6 billion ADSs) outstanding, and approximately US$21.3 billion remaining under the current authorization, effective through March 2025.

DECEMBER QUARTER SUMMARY FINANCIAL RESULTS

		Three months ended December 31,
		2021		2022
		RMB		RMB		US$		YoY % Change
		(in millions, except percentages and per share amounts)
Revenue		242,580		247,756		35,921		2%
Income from operations		7,068		35,031		5,079		396%(2)
Operating margin		3%		14%
Adjusted EBITDA(1)		51,364		59,162		8,578		15%(3)
Adjusted EBITDA margin(1)		21%		24%
Adjusted EBITA(1)		44,822		52,048		7,546		16%(3)
Adjusted EBITA margin(1)		18%		21%
Net income		19,224		45,746		6,633		138%(4)
Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders(5)		27,692		46,815		6,788		69%(4)
Non-GAAP net income(1)		44,624		49,932		7,239		12%(3)
Diluted earnings per share(5) (6)		1.27		2.24		0.32		76%(4) (7)
Diluted earnings per ADS(5) (6)		10.19		17.91		2.60		76%(4) (7)
Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share(1) (6)		2.11		2.41		0.35		14%(3) (7)
Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS(1) (6)		16.87		19.26		2.79		14%(3) (7)

________________
(1)		See the sections entitled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to the Nearest Comparable U.S. GAAP Measures” for more information about the non-GAAP measures referred to within this results announcement.
(2)		The year-over-year increase was primarily due to a RMB22,427 million decrease in impairment of goodwill in relation to Digital media and entertainment segment. We excluded impairment of goodwill from our non-GAAP measurements.
(3)		The year-over-year increase was primarily due to the narrowed adjusted EBITA losses of International commerce, Local consumer services and Digital media and entertainment, as well as an increase in China commerce adjusted EBITA.
(4)		The year-over-year increase of net income was primarily due to a RMB22,427 million decrease in impairment of goodwill in relation to Digital media and entertainment segment, while net income attributable to ordinary shareholders and earnings per share/ADS would further take into account the relevant attributions to noncontrolling interests.
(5)		As noted in our results announcement for the quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, which we announced on May 26, 2022, net income attributable to ordinary shareholders and earnings per share/ADS in the consolidated financial information for the three months and nine months ended December 31, 2021, which we announced on February 24, 2022, were understated. This understatement was due to a non-cash goodwill impairment charge that should have been partially attributed to noncontrolling interests but was fully recorded in net income attributable to ordinary shareholders. We have performed quantitative and qualitative assessments and concluded that the effect of the attribution was not material to the consolidated financial information for the three months and nine months ended December 31, 2021. The financial results for the three months and nine months ended December 31, 2021 as presented have been revised to reflect the above attribution (“Revised attribution to noncontrolling interests”).
(6)		Each ADS represents eight ordinary shares.
(7)		The year-over-year percentages as stated are calculated based on the exact amount and there may be minor differences from the year-over-year percentages calculated based on the RMB amounts after rounding.

DECEMBER QUARTER INFORMATION BY SEGMENTS

The table below sets forth selected financial information of our operating segments for the periods indicated:

		Three months ended December 31, 2022
		China commerce(1)			International commerce			Local consumer services(1)			Cainiao			Cloud			Digital media and entertainment			Innovation initiatives and others			Unallocated(2)			Consolidated
		RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			US$
		(in millions, except percentages)
Revenue		169,986			19,465			13,164			16,553			20,179			7,586			823			—			247,756			35,921
YoY% change		(1	)%		18	%		6	%		27	%		3	%		(6	)%		(20	)%		N/A			2	%
Income (Loss) from operations		53,127			(1,661	)		(5,473	)		(983	)		(1,495	)		(1,024	)		(1,933	)		(5,527	)		35,031			5,079
Add: Share-based compensation expense		2,390			869			942			717			1,848			522			487			998			8,773			1,272
Add: Amortization and impairment of intangible assets		3,110			29			1,394			254			3			477			211			52			5,530			801
Add: Impairment of goodwill		—			—			—			—			—			—			—			2,714			2,714			394
Adjusted EBITA		58,627			(763	)		(3,137	)		(12	)		356			(25	)		(1,235	)		(1,763	)		52,048			7,546
Adjusted EBITA YoY% change(3)		1	%		74	%		38	%		87	%		166	%		98	%		23	%		17	%		16	%
Adjusted EBITA margin		34	%		(4	)%		(24	)%		(0	)%		2	%		(0	)%		(150	)%		N/A			21	%

		Three months ended December 31, 2021
		China commerce(1)			International commerce			Local consumer services(1)			Cainiao			Cloud			Digital media and entertainment			Innovation initiatives and others			Unallocated(2)			Consolidated
		RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB
		(in millions, except percentages)
Revenue		171,901			16,449			12,466			13,078			19,539			8,113			1,034			—			242,580
Income (Loss) from operations		54,558			(3,707	)		(7,733	)		(987	)		(2,137	)		(2,139	)		(2,434	)		(28,353	)		7,068
Add: Share-based compensation expense		2,740			769			1,158			639			2,267			566			608			1,029			9,776
Add: Amortization of intangible assets		580			21			1,499			256			4			199			217			61			2,837
Add: Impairment of goodwill		—			—			—			—			—			—			—			25,141			25,141
Adjusted EBITA		57,878			(2,917	)		(5,076	)		(92	)		134			(1,374	)		(1,609	)		(2,122	)		44,822
Adjusted EBITA margin		34	%		(18	)%		(41	)%		(1	)%		1	%		(17	)%		(156	)%		N/A			18	%

		Nine months ended December 31, 2022
		China commerce(1)			International commerce			Local consumer services(1)			Cainiao			Cloud			Digital media and entertainment			Innovation initiatives and others			Unallocated(2)			Consolidated
		RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			US$
		(in millions, except percentages)
Revenue		446,658			50,663			37,563			42,062			58,621			23,209			1,711			—			660,487			95,762
YoY% change		(1	)%		8	%		11	%		22	%		5	%		(4	)%		(30	)%		N/A			2	%
Income (Loss) from operations		135,662			(5,455	)		(16,703	)		(2,455	)		(4,241	)		(2,936	)		(6,972	)		(11,789	)		85,111			12,340
Add: Share-based compensation expense		6,425			2,096			2,609			1,622			5,269			1,315			1,262			2,687			23,285			3,376
Add: Amortization and impairment of intangible assets		4,288			69			4,226			761			9			849			633			175			11,010			1,596
Add: Impairment of goodwill		—			—			—			—			—			—			—			2,714			2,714			394
Add: Equity-settled donation expense		—			—			—			—			—			—			—			511			511			74
Adjusted EBITA		146,375			(3,290	)		(9,868	)		(72	)		1,037			(772	)		(5,077	)		(5,702	)		122,631			17,780
Adjusted EBITA YoY% change(3)		(3	)%		49	%		40	%		87	%		19	%		72	%		(9	)%		(2	)%		7	%
Adjusted EBITA margin		33	%		(6	)%		(26	)%		(0	)%		2	%		(3	)%		(297	)%		N/A			19	%

		Nine months ended December 31, 2021
		China commerce(1)			International commerce			Local consumer services(1)			Cainiao			Cloud			Digital media and entertainment			Innovation initiatives and others			Unallocated(2)			Consolidated
		RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB			RMB
		(in millions, except percentages)
Revenue		451,501			46,743			33,920			34,525			55,597			24,267			2,457			—			649,010
Income (Loss) from operations		139,980			(8,737	)		(24,214	)		(2,839	)		(5,765	)		(4,849	)		(6,697	)		(33,958	)		52,921
Add: Share-based compensation expense		7,980			2,233			3,035			1,481			6,623			1,515			1,775			3,066			27,708
Add: Amortization of intangible assets		2,237			76			4,655			805			12			610			245			176			8,816
Add: Impairment of goodwill		—			—			—			—			—			—			—			25,141			25,141
Adjusted EBITA		150,197			(6,428	)		(16,524	)		(553	)		870			(2,724	)		(4,677	)		(5,575	)		114,586
Adjusted EBITA margin		33	%		(14	)%		(49	)%		(2	)%		2	%		(11	)%		(190	)%		N/A			18	%

________________
(1)		Beginning on October 1, 2022, we reclassified the results of our Instant Supermarket Delivery (????) business, which was previously reported under China commerce segment, to Local consumer services segment following the strategy refinement of Instant Supermarket Delivery business to focus on building customer mindshare for grocery delivery services through Ele.me platform. This reclassification conforms to the way that we manage and monitor segment performance. Comparative figures were reclassified to conform to this presentation.
(2)		Unallocated expenses primarily relate to corporate administrative costs and other miscellaneous items that are not allocated to individual segments. The goodwill impairment, and the equity-settled donation expense related to the allotment of shares to a charitable trust, are presented as unallocated items in the segment information because our management does not consider these as part of the segment operating performance measure.
(3)		For a more intuitive presentation, widening of loss in YoY% is shown in terms of negative growth rate, and narrowing of loss in YoY% is shown in terms of positive growth rate.

DECEMBER QUARTER SEGMENT RESULTS

Revenue

Revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 was RMB247,756 million (US$35,921 million), an increase of 2% compared to RMB242,580 million in the same quarter of 2021.

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

		Three months ended December 31,
		2021					2022
		RMB		% of Revenue			RMB		US$		% of Revenue			YoY % Change
		(in millions, except percentages)
China commerce:
China commerce retail
– Customer management		100,089		41	%		91,344		13,244		37	%		(9	)%
– Direct sales and others(1) (2)		67,581		28	%		74,421		10,790		30	%		10	%
		167,670		69	%		165,765		24,034		67	%		(1	)%
China commerce wholesale		4,231		2	%		4,221		612		2	%		(0	)%
Total China commerce		171,901		71	%		169,986		24,646		69	%		(1	)%
International commerce:
International commerce retail		11,606		5	%		14,644		2,123		6	%		26	%
International commerce wholesale		4,843		2	%		4,821		699		2	%		(0	)%
Total International commerce		16,449		7	%		19,465		2,822		8	%		18	%
Local consumer services(1)		12,466		5	%		13,164		1,909		5	%		6	%
Cainiao		13,078		5	%		16,553		2,400		7	%		27	%
Cloud		19,539		8	%		20,179		2,925		8	%		3	%
Digital media and entertainment		8,113		3	%		7,586		1,100		3	%		(6	)%
Innovation initiatives and others		1,034		1	%		823		119		0	%		(20	)%
Total		242,580		100	%		247,756		35,921		100	%		2	%

Contacts

Investor Relations Contact
Rob Lin

Investor Relations

Alibaba Group Holding Limited

investor@alibaba-inc.com

Media Contacts:
Cathy Yan

cathy.yan@alibaba-inc.com

Ivy Ke

ivy.ke@alibaba-inc.com

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