Alibaba profit tumbles but revenue surges despite coronavirus – The National

Alibaba profit tumbles but revenue surges despite coronavirus – The National

Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba said its net profit fell 88 per cent 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 three months to March 30, compared to 25.83bn yuan over the same period last year.. But company officials expressed optimism after revenue came at 114.31bn yuan, nearly 7 per cent 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, we have seen a steady recovery since March," company's chief financial officer Maggie Wu said in the company's profit statement.. China imposed quarantines on millions of people and shut down transport throughout the country during the peak of its coronavirus crisis in January and February.. Analysts have said that ultimately the longer-term social-distancing concerns associated with the pandemic