2020 was the year of e-commerce. We already knew this, but just in case you need further confirmation, here they come Alibaba accounts. While awaiting Amazon's quarterly report which will be published this evening, the Chinese giant of online sales announces the results of the last quarter (the third of the year ending in December). In the period the revenues rose 37% to 221,1 billion yuan (about $34,2 billion) compared with an analyst forecast of 215,3 billion yuan. Also up sharply the net profit attributable to shareholders, rose 52% to 79 billion yuan (12,17 billion yuan).
Alibaba explained that to push profits and turnover contributed to the success of Global Shopping Festival, the Chinese "Black Friday", which is held in November to coincide with Singles Day. The trade volume generated over the eleven days of the festival was 26% higher than in 2019 at $74,1 billion.
The company also announced that the cloud computing division reported positive results for the first time, with adjusted EBITDA of approximately $3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. The current chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang he said in 2018 that cloud computing would become Alibaba's "core business" in the future.
“We delivered another solid quarter, with a revenue growth of 37% year over year and adjusted EBITDA up 22%, while our strong free cash flow has allowed us to further invest in strategic areas,” he said. Maggie Wu, chief financial officer of Alibaba Group – We are pleased that our Alibaba Cloud business achieved positive Adjusted Ebitda during the quarter and Cainiao Network operated positive cash flow”
“China was the only major economy to achieve GDP growth last year. Thanks to rapid recovery of the Chinese economy, Alibaba had another strong quarter,” said Alibaba President and CEO Daniel Zhang.
About the project of listing of the fintech subsidiary Ant, suspended in November due to the changes introduced at the regulatory level in China, Alibaba specified that at the moment Ant's business prospects and listing plans are subject to "significant uncertainties": we are unable to provide a complete and correct assessment of the impact these changes and uncertainties will have on Alibaba.
