Quick Take: Alibaba’s Profit More Than Doubles in Latest Quarter

Internet giant Alibaba reported its profit shot up 146% year-on-year in its latest reporting quarter, powered by continued strong double-digit growth from its core e-commerce business.

China’s e-commerce leader said it posted a profit of 17.4 billion yuan ($3.46 billion) for the three months through September, compared with 7.07 billion yuan a year earlier. Revenue rose 61% annually to 55.12 billion yuan.

Revenue from the company’s core e-commerce business rose 63% year-on-year to 46.46 billion yuan.

“This quarter we delivered excellent results, with overall revenue growth of 61% demonstrating the robust momentum in our core commerce business and across the Alibaba economy,” said Maggie Wu, Alibaba’s chief financial officer.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is the dominant player in China’s huge e-commerce market, operating online shopping malls including Taobao and Tmall. But it has had more difficulty expanding its business outside China, even as it makes major investments both inside and outside of the country.

The company’s strong consistent growth, despite its huge size, have made its shares a recent favorite among investors and one of the world’s 10 largest companies by market value. Its shares have doubled this year, giving it a market value of about $480 billion.

Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)