Alibaba beats expectations in Q2

Chinese tech heavyweight Alibaba Group Holding Ltd delivered better-than-expected financial results in the April-June period on Thursday, with total revenue standing at 205.56 billion yuan ($30.4 billion), down 1 percent year-on-year compared with 205.74 billion yuan in the same period last year.

Its net income attributable to ordinary shareholders came in at 22.74 billion yuan for the quarter ending June 30, a decrease of 49.63 percent on a yearly basis. Non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) net income reached 30.25 billion, down 30 percent from a year earlier.

"During the past quarter, we actively adapted to changes in the macro environment and remained focused on our long-term strategy by continuing to strengthen our capability for customer value creation," said Daniel Zhang, chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group.

"Following a relatively slow April and May, we saw signs of recovery across our businesses in June," Zhang said, adding the company is confident in its growth opportunities in the long term given its high-quality consumer base and the resilience of its diversified business model.

The gross merchandise volume from its core e-commerce business, which refers to its Taobao and Tmall platforms, declined by mid-single digits from a year earlier mainly due to a COVID-19 resurgence and restrictions that resulted in supply chain and logistics disruptions in April and most of May. In late May, as logistics capacity normalized, it saw recovering GMV driven by the June 18 online shopping festival.

Revenue in the cloud computing business amounted to 17.69 billion yuan during this period, an increase of 10 percent year-on-year, reflecting a recovery in overall non-internet industries driven by the financial services, public services and telecommunications industries.