Alibaba overcomes Covid challenges in Q3, revenues edge higher

Chinese ecommerce titan Alibaba Group has reported better than expected earnings for Q3, despite facing "significant challenges due to the rapid changes in the Covid situation during December."

Revenues in the quarter edged up 2% from the previous year, with earnings before taxes, interest and amortization managing a double-digit gain of 16%.

“We delivered a solid quarter despite softer demand, supply chain and logistics disruptions due to impact of changes in COVID-19 measures,” said Daniel Zhang, chairman and chief executive officer of Alibaba Group.

Despite difficulties with supply chain, Alibaba's logistics arm gained 27% in revenue, supported by strong domestic demand for deliveries which persisted through the pandemic. Other growth areas were Alibaba Cloud services (up 3%) and its international retail ecommerce business including Lazada and AliExpress where orders grew by 3% as well 

Cost-optimisation and operating efficiencies, meanwhile also helped curb losses at Taobao Deals along with stronger revenues at FreshHippo. 

"With the lifting of Covid-related measures and the end of the peak wave, everything is now quickly getting back on track," Zhang said. "In general, consumer confidence and business confidence are rising. Logistics has resumed normal operations, with the entire supply and manufacturing chains becoming active. Digital transformation across different industries and sectors has accelerated significantly."