Alibaba's profit rises 25% in 2008

Mar. 20, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Alibaba.com Ltd<1688>, a top B2B e-commerce portal in China, posted a 25% year-on-year jump in its net profit for 2008 to RMB 1.2 billion, according to its annual financial report, which was released on Thursday.

The company, whose full-year revenue rose 39% from 2007 to RMB 3 billion (US$439 million) in 2008, said that its annual profit surged 95% from a year earlier taking into account the non-recurring interest income from its IPO over-subscription proceeds of RMB 351 million in 2007.

Last year, the company experienced a record membership growth of 41% to 432,031 subscribers, while the number of registered users hit 38.08 million, up 38%, according to its statement.

In response to the finical crisis, which has negatively affected exports, the company has given more attention internal trade, which accounted for 36% of its business in 2008, up from the 28% in 2007.

The portal giant believed that there is a large development potential for China's e-commerce market, which is still in its primary stage.


Source: chinaknowledge