Alibaba’s fourth-quarter revenue rises 2%

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Thursday that its fourth-quarter sales increased by 2%, falling short of forecasts.

The 208.20 billion yuan ($30.12 billion) in revenue for the three months ended March compared to a Refinitiv average forecast of 210.3 billion yuan based on 26 analysts.

Chinese consumer spending has picked up some traction since the nation abandoned harsh zero-COVID restrictions late last year, but it is still relatively modest in the midst of a shaky economic recovery.

Alibaba revealed intentions to split into six entities earlier this year, following a two-year government crackdown on China’s internet sector. Except for its China-facing e-commerce company, it expects all of its subsidiaries to seek outside investment and go public.

Ordinary shareholders’ net income was 23.52 billion yuan, compared to a loss of 16.24 billion yuan.

Revenue increased 2% year on year to 868.69 billion yuan, the slowest rate of growth since the business went public in 2014.

In addition to low consumer spending, Alibaba has struggled to recruit new customers as China’s e-commerce market develops and new competitors such as PDD Holdings and Douyin, the Chinese counterpart of TikTok owned by ByteDance, make inroads.