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Alibaba's sales grow 54 percent

Tuesday, November 04, 2014 - 01:42

The Chinese e-commerce giant added 29 million mobile users in the latest quarter. That's more than the population of Texas. Fred Katayama reports.

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Alibaba's first report card as a public company showed it was a fast grower but not a standout straight A student. The Chinese e-commerce giant's quarterly profit rose and met expectations. But its profit margins fell as it boosted services and invested in more things like its mobile operating system. Revenue soared nearly 54 percent despite the slowdown in the Chinese economy, beating forecasts. Alibaba grew sales at its online marketplace, Taobao, by adding new categories like baby products and car accessories. But get this: Mobile grew wildly. Alibaba added 29 million mobile users in just the last three months. That's more than the population of Texas And its mobile revenue grew 1000 percent over the past year. Mobile makes up more than a fifth of revenue, and Alibaba is monetizing more of it. Morningstar's senior e-commerce analyst, R.J. Hottovy: (SOUNDBITE) R.J. HOTTOVY, SENIOR E-COMMERCE ANALYST, MORNINGSTAR (ENGLISH) SAYING: "The percentage of mobile transactions as a percentage of the overall ecosystem, relative to a lot of the global peers that are out there, whether be Amazon, or eBay, or even if you look at regional players like MercadoLibre and Rakuten, their mobile numbers are quite impressive. And I think a lot of it is just indicative of the marketplace you see in China but also the company's efforts to capitalize on those efforts. You don't really see the mobile penetration rates that Alibaba is putting up anywhere else in the global e-commerce landscape." Alibaba didn't issue a forecast. Alibaba's shares, which have risen 45 percent over its debut price, rose in early trading.

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Alibaba's sales grow 54 percent

Tuesday, November 04, 2014 - 01:42