Alibaba profit dives 55pc to 32.7b yuan

Alibaba (9988) saw its net profit for 2022 plunge by 55 percent year-on-year to 32.76 billion yuan (HK$37.25 billion), mainly due to a net loss of 20.56 billion yuan in the third quarter of last year.

However, the company reported a better-than-expected quarterly revenue yesterday, as the Chinese e-commerce giant benefited from the country's easing Covid-19 curbs.

Revenue rose 2 percent to 247.76 billion yuan for the three months ended December 31, compared with a Refinitiv consensus estimate of 245.18 billion yuan drawn from 23 analysts.

Meanwhile, its net profit experienced a surge of 69 percent, amounting to 46.82 billion yuan.

"We expect a continued recovery in consumer sentiment and economic activity. We are focused on driving growth for customers amid the competitive landscape, and creating sustainable, long-term value for our shareholders," said Daniel Zhang, chairman and chief executive of Alibaba.

Toby Xu, the chief financial officer of the company, said that during the last quarter, they repurchased 45.4 million American Depositary Shares (equal to 363.3 million ordinary shares) for about US$3.3 billion (HK$25.7 billion) under their share repurchase program as part of the ongoing commitment to improving their shareholder return.

Meanwhile, Chinese tech company NetEase (9999) said its net profit for 2022 increased by 20.6 percent yearly to 20.34 billion yuan.

But its net profit fell by 30.6 percent year-on-year to 3.95 billion yuan in the fourth quarter of last year, due to the higher operating expenses offsetting a small increase in revenue.

Its net revenues were 25.4 billion yuan, an increase of 4.0 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2021.

William Ding, chief executive and director of NetEase said that the company experienced solid growth in 2022, primarily as a result of the ongoing popularity of its leading games and the expansion of products and services.