Alibaba sees surge in sales during lockdown

Like other e-commerce businesses, Chinese giant Alibaba has reported forecast-beating economic results including a doubling of its sales growth. With more consumers resorting to online shopping during the lockdown period, revenue surged by 22% in the quarter ended 31 March (the final quarter of the 2020 fiscal year) to RMB 114.31 billion (about €14.7 billion).

Revenue for the full 2020 fiscal year grew by 35% to RMB 509.7 billion (€65.6 billion), while net profit soared by 75% to RMB 140.3 billion (€18 billion).

The company is forecasting sales of more than RMB 650 billion (€83.6 billion) in fiscal 2021, while it expects the pace of growth to slow from the previous year’s 35% to 27.5%.