Alibaba.com Profit Rises 34 Percent
Online business-to-business platform operator Alibaba.com Ltd. said Thursday its first-quarter net profit rose 34 percent from a year earlier as the number of paying members grew and revenue increased.
Chief Executive David Wei said the company remains confident it will deliver strong revenue growth this year and “a big profit” in 2011 because of the three-year investment plan it launched in 2009. Europe’s debt crisis has no impact on Alibaba.com’s customers, and Chinese exporters and their customers will post growth this year, he said.
Net profit for the three months ended March 31 was 330.0 million yuan ($48.3 million), up from 246.7 million yuan a year earlier and above the average 284.3 million yuan forecast of six analysts.
