HANGZHOU, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--November 18, 2021-- Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: $Alibaba(BABA.US)$ and HKEX: $BABA-SW(09988.HK)$, "Alibaba" or "Alibaba Group") today announced its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2021.

"This quarter, Alibaba continued to firmly invest into our three strategic pillars of domestic consumption, globalization, and cloud computing to establish solid foundations for our long-term goal of sustainable growth in the future.

Our global annual active consumers across the Alibaba Ecosystem reached approximately 1.24 billion, with a quarterly net increase of 62 million consumers, and we are on track to achieve our longer-term target of serving two billion consumers globally."

-said Daniel Zhang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group. 

We recorded revenue growth of 29% year-over-year, driven by performance of our diversified businesses.

During this quarter, our continued investments in key strategic areas have resulted in robust growth for these young businesses."

-said Maggie Wu, Chief Financial Officer of Alibaba Group.

Business Highlights

In the quarter ended September 30, 2021:

• Revenue was RMB200,690 million (US$31,147 million), an increase of 29% year-over-year. Excluding the consolidation of Sun Art, our revenue would  have grown 16% year-over-year to RMB180,438 million (US$28,004 million).
  

• Aggregate revenue of our international commerce retail and international commerce wholesale was RMB15,092 million (US$2,342 million), an increase of 34% year-over-year. Our cloud computing revenue was RMB20,007 million (US$3,105 million), an increase of 33% year-over-year.

• Annual active consumers ("AACs") of the Alibaba Ecosystem across the  world reached approximately 1.24 billion for the twelve months ended September 30, 2021, an increase of approximately 62 million from the twelve months ended June 30, 2021. This includes 953 million consumers in China and 285 million consumers overseas, representing a quarterly net increase of 41 million and 20 million, respectively. 

• Income from operations was RMB15,006 million (US$2,329 million), an increase of 10% year-over-year due to a RMB15,690 million decrease in  share-based compensation expense related to Ant Group share-based awards granted to our employees. We excluded share-based compensation expense from our non-GAAP measurements. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measurement, decreased 27% year-over-year to RMB34,840 million (US$5,407 million). 

• Adjusted EBITA, a non-GAAP measurement, decreased 32% year-over-year to RMB28,033 million (US$4,351 million). The year-over-year decreases were primarily due to our increased investments in key strategic areas that have exhibited robust growth in operations, as well as our support to merchants. These investments in key strategic areas within our commerce  segment, such as Taobao Deals, Local Consumer Services, Community  Marketplaces and Lazada, increased by RMB12,575 million year-over-year. Excluding the impact of these investments, profits of our commerce segment would have remained stable year-over-year. 

• Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB5,367 million(US$833 million) and net income was RMB3,377 million (US$524 million).

• Non-GAAP net income was RMB28,524 million (US$4,427 million), a decrease of 39% year-over-year.

• Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB35,830 million (US$5,561
  million). Non-GAAP free cash flow was RMB22,239 million (US$3,451
  million), a decrease compared to RMB40,540 million in the same quarter of
  2020, mainly due to a decrease in profit as a result of our increased
  investments in key strategic areas. 

Reconciliations of GAAP measures to non-GAAP measures presented above are included at the end of this results announcement.

Guidance

The guidance below is a forward-looking statement that reflects assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this announcement and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which we are not able to predict or control. 

Based on our current view of macroeconomic conditions and the competitive landscape. we are revising our fiscal year 2022 revenue guidance. We expect our fiscal year 2022 revenue to grow 20% to 23% year-over-year.

Business And Strategic Updates

China Retail Marketplaces -- comprehensive product supply and engaging user experience to target the diverse demands of consumers in China

For the twelve months ended September 30, 2021, there were approximately 863 million AACs on our China retail marketplaces and New Retail businesses, with increasing percentage of new consumers from lower-tier cities, which reflect our success in broadening product offerings to meet diverse consumer demand.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2021, we recorded single-digit physical goods GMV year-over-year growth, primarily due to slowing market conditions and more players in the China e-commerce market. By categories, physical goods GMV growth was slower in the apparel and accessories category, but continued to be resilient in the consumer electronics and home furnishing categories.

Taobao Deals continues to exhibit robust user growth by providing consumers with more high quality, value-for-money products, enriching food and beverage offerings sourced from our Community Marketplaces business, and reducing delivery costs as well as improving delivery experience for consumers in lower-tier cities. For example, Taobao Deals launched programs that incentivize bundling purchases of products delivered from self-operated warehouses, which reduce costs and improve delivery experience for consumers. For the twelve months ended September 30, 2021, there were over 240 million AACs on Taobao Deals with increasing percentage of new consumers from lower-tier cities.

In November 2021, we celebrated the thirteenth annual 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, which generated RMB540.3 billion in GMV, excluding unpaid orders, during the 11-day campaign. We are leveraging the power of the festival as a platform to fulfill our social responsibility and build a sustainable future. This year's festival is also more inclusive. Among a record of 290,000 brands that participated in the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival this year, 65% are small and medium-sized businesses, manufacturers from industrial belts and new brands. In addition, a dedicated eco-friendly vertical on Tmall featured 500,000 products with official Green Product Certification from more than 2,000 merchants.

New Retail -- multi-format New Retail businesses built on an expanding digital supply chain and increasingly diversified fulfillment services

Our Community Marketplaces business continues to expand coverage into lower-tier cities and grow rapidly, with GMV growing over 150% quarter-over-quarter. We continue to strengthen consumer experience by enhancing quality product supply and on-time delivery. In this business, we are able to leverage the supply chain capabilities of Sun Art, which has strong regional procurement and supply chain capabilities in the perishables, FMCG and general merchandise categories.

Local Consumer Services -- healthy order growth supported by growing merchant base

During the quarter, Ele.me continued to invest in user acquisitions and user experience enhancements that resulted in strong AAC growth of 28% year-over-year. Order volume growth was also strong at over 30% year-over-year, with increasing percentage from non-restaurant orders, driven by fast growth in number of merchants as well as user penetration. Order growth was particularly strong in the grocery and healthcare categories.

Cainiao Network -- improving efficiency across the Alibaba Ecosystem and the logistics industry in China and internationally

Cainiao Network continues to expand its global infrastructure by strengthening its end-to-end logistics capabilities, including international freight service, destination warehousing and fulfilment, and last-mile delivery service enablement. As of September 30, 2021, Cainiao operated over 3 million square meters of warehouses dedicated to cross-border businesses. Cainiao has launched initiatives to improve the shopping experience for international consumers by launching self-pickup lockers in four European countries where AliExpress has operations.

Cainiao Post continues to expand its coverage into less-developed areas of China to improve delivery efficiency. As of September 30, 2021, Cainiao Post covered more than 1,000 counties and towns in less-developed areas of China with the number of daily packages handled in these markets growing over 280% year-over-year.

International Commerce -- robust growth of multiple platforms in key international markets

In September 2021, our international commerce retail business, mainly including Lazada, AliExpress, Trendyol and Daraz, grew rapidly to achieve approximately 285 million AACs in the twelve months ended September 30, 2021, representing a quarterly net increase of 20 million. Both international commerce retail and international commerce wholesale demonstrated a robust growth in the September quarter, with aggregate year-over-year revenue increase of 34% to RMB15,092 million (US$2,342 million).