Alibaba.com, which has upped its marketing spending significantly, reported a 33 percent drop in quarterly profits Thursday. Revenue at the Chinese e-commerce giant jumped nearly 24 percent. Some of the drop in net income was attributable to one-time charges, but the company said it was also related to its “previously announced continuing investments in customers, people and technology to position the company for future growth.” Those efforts include a big expansion in the United States, where Alibaba is spending $30 million to advertise its international site.
The company has said it is also committed to spending between $200 million and $300 million on acquisitions — and during the company’s earnings call CEO David Wei said, “We are relatively close to mak(ing) some announcements in the coming months,” according to Bloomberg News. There’s speculation that Alibaba.com may want to make a mobile or payment technology related acquisition. Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) owns a 44 percent stake in the Alibaba Group, which controls Alibaba.com.
| 2Q 2009 | 2Q 2008 | |
|---|---|---|
| EPS | HK$0.05 | HK$0.08 |
| Net Income | $260.7M | $396.5M |
| Revenue | $908.3M | $735.1M |

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