Alibaba has smashed analyst estimates with its latest financials.
The Chinese e-commerce giant reported ( PDF ) net income of RMB 17.12 billion ($2.47 billion) with total revenue of RMB 53.25 million ($7.67 billion) for its Q3 2016, the latter was a 54 percent year-on-year jump. Earning per share came in at RMB 6.94 ($1.00).
This was a big win for Alibaba. Analysts predicted net income of RMB 13.7 billion and total revenue of RMB 50.4 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal , but it beat those figures by some margin. In light of that, the firm raised its revenue guidance for the full 2017 year from 48 percent growth to 53 percent.
The primary source of revenue remains Alibaba’s core commerce businesses — its Taobao marketplace and T-Mall service for brands — and they accounted for RMB 46,58 billion ($6.71 billion), up 45 percent year-on-year. Alibaba said its marketplaces now have 493 million monthly users, as of December 2016, with 443 million active buyers. Taobao, it said, grew to 493 million monthly users in December from 450 million in September. For context, China now has 731 million internet users , 95 percent of whom are on mobile.
No new figures were given for T-Mall beyond the data Alibaba shared back on Single’s Day , which is China’s biggest shopping festival on November 11. Alibaba did break its own record by selling RMB 120.
