阿里巴巴二季度营收优于预期

Alibaba, the Chinese ecommerce group founded by Jack Ma, delivered its fastest pace of quarterly sales growth since its 2014 flotation as it defied the wider slowdown in the Chinese economy and fears about its business model.

马云创立的中国电商集团阿里巴巴(Alibaba)实现了自2014年上市以来最快的季度销售增长，顶住了中国经济整体放缓的趋势及对其商业模式的担忧。

Revenue at the New York-listed company jumped 59 per cent year on year to $4.8bn in the three months to the end of June, slightly ahead of analyst expectations of $4.5bn. That came on the back of a resilient performance by its main Chinese platform, fuelled by increasing mobile commerce and rapid growth in its nascent cloud computing business.

这家在纽约上市的公司在截至6月底的3个月里收入同比上升59%，达到48亿美元，略高于分析师预期的45亿美元。这得益于其主要中国电商平台在移动商务日益增长和新生的云计算业务快速发展的助推下表现强韧。

Alibaba’s better than expected figures came a day after its main Chinese rival, , reported results that were ahead of market predictions.

阿里巴巴报告优于预期的数据一天前，其主要中国竞争对手京东()也报告了优于市场预测的业绩。

Alibaba shares were up 5.4 per cent in late-afternoon trading yesterday to $92.05, putting the group on course to set a one-year high.

阿里巴巴的股价在昨日尾盘交易中上涨5.4%，至每股92.05美元，逼近一年高点。

Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation rose 40 per cent year on year to $2.1bn in the June quarter.

在截至6月底的季度，利息、税项、折旧及摊销前盈利(EBITDA)同比增长40%，至21亿美元。

Net income fell 77 per cent in the same period to $1.1bn — the equivalent quarter a year ago had been boosted by a one-off investment gain.

同期净利润下降77%，至11亿美元，一年前同一季度的净利润得到一次性投资收益的提振。

Joseph Tsai, executive vice-chairman, told analysts on a conference call that the growth in revenue at the company’s core business would “surprise many given the economic headwinds and reduced expectations for the industry”.

阿里巴巴集团执行副主席蔡崇信(Joseph Tsai)在电话会议中告诉分析师，该公司核心业务的收入增长将“让很多人感到惊讶——考虑到经济上的逆风和对行业预期的下降”。

He added: “We’ve established strong competitive positions and firm foundations for future growth.”

他补充道：“我们确立了强大的竞争地位，并为未来增长奠定了坚实基础。”

The company, which made history when it launched the biggest-ever listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014, has seen its shares struggle since then because of investor concerns about its expansion prospects and a lack of transparency about its performance across different divisions.

阿里巴巴曾经于2014年在纽约证交所(NYSE)进行史上最大规模的上市，创造了历史。但其股价在这之后陷入挣扎，原因是投资者担忧其扩张前景，也担忧其不同部门的具体表现缺乏透明度。

As part of an effort to boost its standing with investors, the company this quarter broke out its numbers into four segments: core online marketplaces, cloud computing, mobile media and other initiatives.

作为提高其在投资者中的声望的努力的一部分，该公司在本季度分别报告了4块业务的业绩数据：核心在线市场、云计算、移动媒体和其他业务。

Duncan Clark, head of Beijing-based consultancy BDA and author of a recent book on Alibaba, said the results were “pretty impressive” with “cloud revenues becoming meaningful and mobile storming ahead”.

北京咨询机构博达克咨询公司(BDA)、最近出过一本有关阿里巴巴的书的邓肯•克拉克(Duncan Clark)表示，阿里巴巴的业绩“十分令人印象深刻”，包括“云计算营收增至有意义的水平，而移动业务迅猛增长”。

He said the increased disclosure would be “helpful” for investors, but it was unlikely to sway short-sellers “dead set on doubting the company”.

他说，提高信息披露程度会“有助于”投资者，但不太可能改变那些“执着于质疑该公司的”卖空者。

Mr Tsai said Alibaba’s prospects were supported by the deepening engagement on its platforms, which brands were increasingly using for marketing, as well as new business areas such as cloud computing, where revenue grew 156 per cent year on year to $187m.

蔡崇信表示，支撑阿里巴巴前景的是深化对其平台的参与（各品牌日趋利用其平台开展营销）以及云计算（营收同比增长156%，至1.87亿美元）等新业务领域。

He also suggested that the company would continue to expand outside China, following investments over the past year in Lazada, a Southeast Asian ecommerce platform, and PayTM, an Indian payment gateway.

他还暗示，继去年投资东南亚电商平台Lazada和印度支付中介PayTM之后，该公司会继续向中国以外扩张。

Alibaba gave no update on the status of an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which it said in May was probing possible violations of federal securities law related to the way Alibaba reported its financials.

今年5月，美国证券交易委员会(SEC)曾表示，正在调查阿里巴巴披露财务状况的方式中可能违反联邦证券法律的行为。对于该机构的调查进展，阿里巴巴并未给出最新信息。