Strategic pricing and product adjustments produce record paying member additions; a healthy customer retention rate and a strong increase in Q4 revenue and net income
Alibaba.com Limited (HKSE:1688.HK) (HK.1688):
Highlights
- Added 9.7 million registered users worldwide during full-year 2009 (25.4 percent growth year-on-year), bringing the China and international marketplaces total to 47.7 million registered users at the end of the year. The international marketplace saw 46.3 percent growth while the China marketplace saw 19.9 percent growth for the full year of 2009
- Total revenue in Q4 2009 was up 35.8 percent year-on-year to RMB1.1 billion (US$161.9 million)
- Q4 as-reported net income up 48.6 percent over Q4 of 2008
- Another high-growth quarter in paying members with a total of 36,311 net adds in Q4 and 183,181 net adds during FY 2009 to our China and international marketplaces, reaching 615,212 paying members worldwide
- Q4 2009 deferred revenue and recurring free cash flow up 49.8 percent and 36.9 percent respectively over Q4 2008. Deferred revenue for the full year reaches RMB3.4 billion (US$503.2 million)
- Storefronts increased by 47.8 percent in FY 2009 to reach 6.8 million worldwide
- Strong balance sheet with RMB7.2 billion (US$1.1 billion) cash position
Alibaba.com Limited (HKSE:1688.HK) (HK.1688), the world's leading small business e-commerce company, today announced financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2009, that highlight the increasing significance of e-commerce to successful small businesses and the resilience of Alibaba.com's business model in a volatile macroeconomic environment. In the fourth quarter of 2009, Alibaba.com's revenue increased 35.8 percent over the same period in 2008. As-reported net income for Q4 increased 48.6 percent year-on-year, driven mostly by strong customer growth and value-added services (VAS) revenue. Our customer and VAS growth was driven by improvements resulting from our year-long investment in customers, people, technology, products and services.
2009 Financial Highlights | ||||||||||||||||||
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 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |  |  | Q4 2009 RMB million |  |  | Q4 2008 RMB million (Restated) |  |  |
| Â | Â | FY 2009 | Â | Â | FY 2008 RMB million (Restated) | Â | Â | Change |
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Revenue | 1,105.7 | 814.2 | +35.8% | 3,874.7 | 3,004.1 | +29.0% | ||||||||||||
Profit from operations | 266.8 | 166.9 | +59.9% | 1,073.0 | 1,141.7 | -6.0% | ||||||||||||
Profit attributable to equity owners | 281.2 | 189.2 | +48.6% | 1,013.0 | 1,154.5 | -12.3% | ||||||||||||
Share-based compensation expense | 57.5 | 47.3 | +21.5% | 200.4 | 182.0 | +10.1% | ||||||||||||
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Deferred revenue and customer advances | 3,437.0 | 2,294.4 | +49.8% | 3,437.0 | 2,294.4 | +49.8% | ||||||||||||
Recurring free cash flow | 693.0 | 506.2 | +36.9% | 1,816.2 | 1,465.9 | +23.9% | ||||||||||||
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Earnings per share, basic (HKD) | 6.33 cents | 4.24 cents | +49.3% | 22.81 cents | 25.61 cents | -10.9% | ||||||||||||
Earnings per share, diluted (HKD) | Â | Â | 6.28 cents | Â | Â | 4.24 cents | Â | Â | +48.1% | Â | Â | 22.63 cents | Â | Â | 25.58 cents | Â | Â | -11.5% |
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Note 1: Certain comparative figures have been restated pursuant to the business combination under common control upon acquisition of the business management software division of Alisoft Holding Limited and its subsidiaries ("Alisoft"). |
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS | Â | Â | Q4 2009 | Â | Â | Q3 2009 | Â | Â | Q4 Change | Â | Â | Q4 2009 Net adds | Â | Â | FY 2009 | Â | Â | FY 2008 | Â | Â | FY Change | Â | Â | FY 2009 Net adds |
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Registered users | 47,732,916 | 45,275,511 | +5.4% | 2,457,405 | 47,732,916 | 38,075,335 | +25.4% | 9,657,581 | ||||||||||||||||
International marketplace | 11,578,247 | 10,480,421 | +10.5% | 1,097,826 | 11,578,247 | 7,914,630 | +46.3% | 3,663,617 | ||||||||||||||||
China marketplace | 36,154,669 | 34,795,090 | +3.9% | 1,359,579 | 36,154,669 | 30,160,705 | +19.9% | 5,993,964 | ||||||||||||||||
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Storefronts | 6,819,984 | 6,066,900 | +12.4% | 753,084 | 6,819,984 | 4,614,250 | +47.8% | 2,205,734 | ||||||||||||||||
International marketplace | 1,400,326 | 1,226,496 | +14.2% | 173,830 | 1,400,326 | 965,747 | +45.0% | 434,579 | ||||||||||||||||
China marketplace | 5,419,658 | 4,840,404 | +12.0% | 579,254 | 5,419,658 | 3,648,503 | +48.5% | 1,771,155 | ||||||||||||||||
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Paying members (Note 2) | 615,212 | 578,901 | +6.3% | 36,311 | 615,212 | 432,031 | +42.4% | 183,181 | ||||||||||||||||
China Gold Supplier | 96,110 | 84,868 | +13.2% | 11,242 | 96,110 | 43,028 | +123.4% | 53,082 | ||||||||||||||||
Global Gold Supplier | 17,786 | 18,611 | -4.4% | (825) | 17,786 | 16,136 | +10.2% | 1,650 | ||||||||||||||||
China TrustPass | 501,316 | 475,422 | +5.4% | 25,894 | 501,316 | 372,867 | +34.4% | 128,449 | ||||||||||||||||
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Note 2: Include paying members with active storefront listings on our international and China marketplaces as well as paying members who have paid membership package subscription fees but whose storefronts have not been activated. |
"2009 was a year to test even the strongest business in ability to weather volatile economic climates," said David Wei, CEO of Alibaba.com. "Alibaba.com's success in 2009 was entirely due to a laser focus on serving customers' needs regardless of the economic climate. As the global economy faltered and China exports dropped nearly 20 percent in the first quarter of the year, small businesses turned to e-commerce to survive and grow. As the economy and export outlook improved, customers maintained and expanded their use of e-commerce to give themselves a competitive edge as the global economy started to recover.
"Our investments during the year were also an important step in ensuring the long-term success and stability of our business," Wei continued. "By investing our resources in our customers when they needed it most, we were able to help them navigate a turbulent year to emerge stronger and more fortified with near term impact to our financials but significant upside to our long-term health as a company. These investments resulted in multiple new products to meet the specific needs of our global customers, pricing adjustments to make e-commerce more accessible to small businesses, as well as acquisitions that will help us offer a broader range of services to meet the ever-evolving needs of our users."
Outlook
"As we continue to see strong growth in our user numbers, we need to invest to improve our service standard and prepare ourselves to handle our anticipated growth," Wei said. "With challenging times still ahead, we are calling 2010 a 'year of customer service' dedicated to enhancing the trust between Alibaba.com and our growing customer base, and developing new initiatives that meet their needs for the next decade. We will focus on ensuring we offer superior customer satisfaction and service efficiency, while increasing the quality of suppliers available to our user base and introducing new developments in online transactions. In addition, we will invest in new product initiatives that will lower the entry barrier and meet the needs of our customers. For example, we are launching China TrustPass Basic, which includes product and pricing adjustments that will allow more small businesses to take advantage of e-commerce. In addition, we have announced a new domain, 1688.com, an online wholesale marketplace that helps factories, brand owners and top-tier wholesalers attract a large number of buyers and provides them with a variety of transaction tools. In short, we will continue to invest in new areas in 2010 while reaping benefits from the investments made last year. This includes investment in the China marketplace, our Information Technology Business Unit (ITBU) including the newly acquired HiChina and Alisoft, and the synergy with sister companies in Alibaba Group."
2009 Financial and Operational Results
Paying Members and Revenue
We continue to maintain market leadership through strong growth in our already significant customer base. As of December 31, 2009, we had 615,212 paying members, up 6.3 percent from the previous quarter and 42.4 percent from the beginning of the year, a record annual membership gain for the company.
Growth in Gold Supplier memberships was exceptionally strong, with China exceeding our expectations. Driven by the 2008 introduction of the Gold Supplier Starter Pack, we saw a 123.4 percent increase in China Gold Supplier members in 2009. Our China Gold Supplier members increased by 53,082 during the year, reaching 96,110 as of December 31, 2009. Internationally, Global Gold Supplier membership grew 10.2 percent over the previous year to a total of 17,786. The China TrustPass product also saw healthy growth of 34.4 percent over last year.
Our deferred revenue and customer advances, including a RMB123.8 million contribution from HiChina in Q4, increased substantially to RMB3.4 billion (US$503.2 million) as of December 31, 2009, representing a year-on-year increase of 49.8 percent. Given our subscription-based revenue model, we believe deferred revenue is a good indicator of future revenue growth.
Total revenue grew by 35.8 percent Q4 2009 over Q4 2008 and 29.0 percent FY 2009 over FY 2008 to RMB3,874.7 million (US$567.3 million) for the year due to the strong increase in paying members as well as higher sales of VAS in China and overseas.
International Marketplace
Q4 2009 revenue from our international marketplace increased by 40.9 percent over the same period last year and 7.5 percent over the previous quarter. Full-year revenue increased 27.8 percent from RMB1,884.0 million (US$275.8 million) in 2008 to RMB2,406.8 million (US$352.4 million) in 2009, primarily due to the jump in the number of China Gold Supplier members as well as a greater revenue contribution from the Global Gold Supplier membership, which replaced the International TrustPass membership in the third quarter of 2009. The Gold Supplier Starter Pack was well received after its launch in the fourth quarter of 2008 and sales momentum has continued throughout 2009.
Our China Gold Supplier members increased by 53,082 during the year, reaching 96,110 as of December 31, 2009, representing a 123.4 percent growth compared to 43,028 as of December 31, 2008. This record high annual addition in paying members also contributed to the increase in revenue from the sale of VAS. Global Gold Supplier members increased by 1,650 to 17,786 as of December 31, 2009, a 10.2 percent increase compared to 16,136 as of December 31, 2008.
Despite the challenging economic environment, registered users on our international marketplace last year surpassed 11.5 million. As of December 31, 2009, the registered user base grew 10.5 percent when compared with the previous quarter and 46.3 percent when compared with the end of 2008. For the full year 2009, registered users on the international marketplace increased by 3,663,617 or 46.3 percent, reaching 11,578,247 as of December 31, 2009. The number of storefronts grew 14.2 percent over the previous quarter and 45.0 percent over the full year to reach 1,400,326. Our US$30 million global marketing campaign accelerated global buyer acquisition, and the additional users spurred higher traffic and buying activity on our marketplace. This vitality during one of the worst global economic downturns in decades indicates that buyers and sellers worldwide are increasingly leveraging e-commerce as a cost-effective tool to ride out recession.
We also enhanced customer satisfaction throughout the year by deploying more resources in customer care and helping paying members boost their performance. This enhanced service produced an improvement in renewals of China Gold Supplier memberships, especially for first-year paying customers. We saw encouraging signs that the renewal rate of the first batch of Starter Pack members is stronger relative to the rate for our first-year paying members in the past, though the net addition in the fourth quarter was lower compared to the past three quarters due to a larger customer renewal base.
In 2009, we also made steady progress in the development and sale of new VAS. VAS revenue contribution of China Gold Supplier has seen a slight, gradual increase throughout the year to reach high-teens percentage at the end of the year. Our strategy of maintaining competitive membership fees in order to lower the entry barrier for new customers and subsequently offering targeted VAS to address differing customer needs offers our members greater flexibility. We believe separating VAS from the basic membership will provide better value and measurement for customers, which at the end will enhance the customer satisfaction.
In the third quarter, we also launched a beta version of AliExpress, an international wholesale platform designed to facilitate small bulk transactions online. By integrating Alipay's escrow feature into the AliExpress platform, we provide an easy, safe and secure online cross-border transaction service to buyers and suppliers. AliExpress offers millions of e-tailers and power sellers on various consumer-oriented e-commerce platforms worldwide an opportunity to consolidate their sourcing needs. Since its launch, we have witnessed steady growth, and we will focus on growing the number of product offerings, users and their engagement with the AliExpress platform in the coming quarters.
China Marketplace
Q4 2009 revenue from our China marketplace increased by 26.9 percent over the same period last year and 6.3 percent over the previous quarter. Full-year revenue from our China marketplace increased by 29.3 percent from RMB1,094.1 million (US$160.2 million) in 2008 to RMB1,414.9 million (US$207.2 million) in 2009. The growth was largely due to an increase in the number of China TrustPass members as a result of the strong execution of our telephone sales and resellers' efforts. During the year, we added 128,449 paying members on our China marketplace, resulting in a 34.4 percent increase and reaching 501,316 paying members as of year end. On the VAS front, revenue from Premium Placement saw healthy growth during the year. The pay-for-performance keyword bidding service Ali-ADvance, which was launched in March 2009 and replaced our fixed-cost placement keyword bidding service, continued to gain traction during the year.
Total registered users on the China marketplace, including paying and non-paying customers, rose by almost 6 million during the year to 36,154,669 as of December 31, 2009. The registered user base grew 19.9 percent from the end of 2008 to the end of 2009 and 3.9 percent over the previous quarter. The number of storefronts increased 12.0 percent over the previous quarter and 48.5 percent over the previous year to 5,419,658. Our China TrustPass members exceeded half a million at 501,316 as of December 31, 2009, representing a net addition of 25,894 paying members or a 5.4 percent increase over the previous quarter and an addition of 128,449 for the year for a 34.4 percent increase over FY 2008. The net addition for the fourth quarter was lower than in previous quarters mainly due to a bigger renewal customer base in the quarter and also fewer working days due to extended public holidays. During the year, the customer renewal rate was relatively stable. In the second quarter, we unified the search results ranking priority of China TrustPass corporate memberships and individual memberships and aligned the pricing of both products to RMB2,800 (US$410.0) per year.
In 2009, not only did we see growth momentum in member acquisition, we also witnessed early signs of increased VAS usage among China TrustPass members, most obviously in Ali-ADvance and Premium Placement services. Since its launch in the first quarter of 2009, Ali-ADvance, the pay-per-click keyword bidding model, has been gaining ground following challenges encountered during the transition period from the old pay-for-listing keyword bidding model. With further fine-tuning of search result relevancy accompanied by our highlighting of the benefits and return on investment for members, we believe that Ali-ADvance will help improve the efficiency of suppliers' marketing efforts while allowing for better monetization of the ever-increasing user traffic on our China marketplace. Meanwhile, Premium Placement also witnessed promising growth both in terms of the number of users and revenue in the period. VAS revenue contribution was in the mid-teens percentage of China TrustPass revenue.
Financial Results
Cost of revenue increased by 19.6 percent in Q4 2009 compared to Q4 2008 and increased 33.4 percent from RMB400.7 million (US$58.7 million) in FY 2008 to RMB534.4 million (US$78.2 million) in FY 2009. Included in the cost of revenue for the full year was share-based compensation expense of RMB15.9 million (US$2.3 million). Our cost of revenue increased mainly in line with our revenue growth due to staff costs; business taxes and related surcharges; authentication and verification expenses associated with our larger customer base; and increased bandwidth and depreciation expenses due to increased user traffic on our websites. As a percentage of revenue, cost of revenue was in line with 2008 results, rendering a flat gross profit margin year-on-year at 86.2 percent (2008: 86.7 percent).
Profit from operations (which represents profit after deducting share-based compensation expense) increased 59.9 percent when comparing Q4 2008 to Q4 2009, but slightly decreased by 6.0 percent from RMB1,141.7 million (US$167.2 million) in FY 2008 to RMB1,073.0 million (US$157.1 million) in FY 2009. Our operating profit margin increased 3.6 percentage points when comparing Q4 2008 to Q4 2009, but decreased to 27.7 percent in FY 2009 from 38.0 percent in FY 2008. The drop in full-year margin was anticipated by management and was mainly attributable to planned investment in sales and marketing activities as well as product development.
Profit from operations before share-based compensation expense (non-GAAP) increased 51.4 percent when comparing Q4 2008 to Q4 2009, but decreased 3.8 percent from RMB1,323.7 million (US$193.8 million) in FY 2008 to RMB1,273.4 million (US$ 186.4 million) in FY 2009. Operating margin excluding share-based compensation expense (non-GAAP) was 29.3 percent for Q4 2009, which was a 3.0 percentage point increase over the same period in the previous year. However, it was 32.9 percent for the full year, representing a decrease from 44.1 percent in 2008 due to the reasons stated above.
Net income (profit attributable to equity owners) in the fourth quarter of 2009 was RMB281.2 million (US$41.2 million), an increase of 48.6 percent over Q4 2008, and RMB1.0 billion (US$148.3 million) for the full-year 2009, down 12.3 percent from 2008. The decrease was a result of investments in our customers, people and technology, efforts that management believes lays a foundation for future expansion. Results also included a combined annual loss in our Alisoft business of RMB22.8 million (US$3.3 million). The acquisition of HiChina, completed in December 2009, had no significant impact on our annual results other than certain acquisition costs that were expensed in 2009.
Earnings per share, basic and diluted were 6.33 and 6.28 Hong Kong cents (0.82 and 0.81 US cents) respectively for the quarter, and 22.81 Hong Kong cents and 22.63 Hong Kong cents (2.94 and 2.92 US cents) respectively for the full year compared to 25.61 and 25.58 Hong Kong cents (both 3.30 US cents) respectively for the full-year 2008.
Recurring free cash flow (non-GAAP) in Q4 2009 was RMB693.0 million (US$101.5 million), representing a 36.9 percent increase when comparing Q4 2008 to Q4 2009, and RMB1,816.2 million (US$265.9 million) for the year, representing a 23.9 percent increase from 2008. The increase was mainly due to the strong growth in paying members, who pre-pay for full-year memberships, as reflected in the increase in our deferred revenue and customer advances.
Cash and bank balances as of December 31, 2009 were RMB7,216.4 million (US$1,056.6 million), representing a 9.1 percent increase from December 31, 2008. As of December 31, 2009, 95.5 percent (December 31, 2008: 75.2 percent) of our cash and bank balances was denominated in Renminbi.
Synergies with Alibaba Group companies
As e-commerce becomes more widely adopted, we have seen more synergies between Alibaba.com and our sister companies. In April 2009, we launched an online wholesale transaction platform on our China marketplace, allowing small businesses such as Taobao retailers to source products at low prices in small quantities starting with apparel, and then small consumer items. With more cross-platform coordination, a greater number of e-tailers, in particular Taobao power sellers, will realize the benefit of sourcing online through Alibaba.com's wholesale platform. In addition, we collaborated with Alipay to facilitate online payment for the China wholesale market and to provide escrow services for transactions on AliExpress. Together with Alipay, we will continue to enhance the payment mechanism to make it more suitable for business customers. We continue to partner with Alibaba Group and various banks to provide loans to our small business customers. To date, our customers have received more than RMB6.0 billion (US$ 878.5 million) in principal amounts of loans under the Ali-Loan program.
Alibaba.com's 10th anniversary and our new business structure
In September 2009, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of Alibaba.com. During this event, we revealed more about our vision for the development of e-commerce in the coming decade. Our past 10 years have proven the power of e-commerce to generate business opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs. In the coming 10 years, we believe e-commerce can evolve beyond serving the sales and marketing function for suppliers. Our goal is to help small businesses overcome challenges and inefficiencies not only in sales and marketing, but also in procurement, management and financing through innovative technologies. To ensure the realization of this vision in the coming decade, we have reorganized our business initiatives into the following business units: the International Core Business Unit (ICBU), the China Core Business Unit (CCBU), the Information Technology Business Unit (ITBU), and Ali-Institute. ICBU and CCBU are extensions of our existing international marketplace and China marketplace, respectively. ITBU and Ali-Institute are new divisions that will help small businesses get better access to technology to upgrade their operations, as well as train their personnel in the use of this technology.
In September 2009, we moved from our old offices in several buildings near the center of Hangzhou in China to our new corporate campus in the Binjiang district of Hangzhou. Construction of the campus was completed in two years, on time and below our original budget due to our effective cost control. Now all of our business units can work together at this new campus, and we believe this will further enhance our operational efficiency.
About Alibaba.com Limited
Alibaba.com (HKSE:1688) (HK.1688) is the global leader in e-commerce for small businesses and the flagship company of Alibaba Group. Founded in 1999, Alibaba.com makes it easy for millions of buyers and suppliers around the world to do business online through three marketplaces: a global trade marketplace (www.alibaba.com) for importers and exporters, a Chinese marketplace (www.alibaba.com.cn) for domestic trade in China, and, through an associated company, a Japanese marketplace (www.alibaba.co.jp) facilitating trade to and from Japan. Together, its marketplaces form a community of more than 47 million registered users from more than 240 countries and regions. Alibaba.com also offers business management software and Internet infrastructure services targeting small businesses across China and, through Ali-Institute, incubates e-commerce talent for Chinese small businesses. Founded in Hangzhou, China, Alibaba.com has offices in more than 60 cities across Greater China, Japan, Korea, Europe and the United States.
For photos and broadcast-standard video supporting this press release, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/alibaba.If you are a first-time user, please take a moment to register. If you have any questions, please email journalisthelp@thenewsmarket.com.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUARTERLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION | ||||||||
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Q4 2009 | Q4 2008 | Q4 2009 | Â | Q3 2009 | ||||
RMB'000 | RMB'000 | RMB'000 | RMB'000 | |||||
(Restated) | ||||||||
Revenue | ||||||||
International marketplace | 687,102 | 487,520 | 687,102 | 639,339 | ||||
China marketplace | 402,001 | 316,760 | 402,001 | 378,319 | ||||
Others | 16,616 | 9,884 | 16,616 | 14,713 | ||||
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Total revenue | 1,105,719 | 814,164 | 1,105,719 | 1,032,371 | ||||
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Cost of revenue | (146,821) | (122,801) | (146,821) | (138,000) | ||||
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Gross profit | 958,898 | 691,363 | 958,898 | 894,371 | ||||
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Sales and marketing expenses | (481,640) | (378,855) | (481,640) | (463,052) | ||||
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Product development expenses | (121,396) | (72,006) | (121,396) | (107,803) | ||||
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General and administrative expenses | (130,853) | (93,849) | (130,853) | (97,962) | ||||
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Other operating income, net | 41,805 | 20,260 | 41,805 | 34,475 | ||||
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Profit from operations | 266,814 | 166,913 | 266,814 | 260,029 | ||||
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Finance income, net | 32,854 | 56,190 | 32,854 | 33,415 | ||||
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Share of losses of associated companies, net of tax | (7,916) | (7,544) | (7,916) | (8,749) | ||||
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Profit before income taxes | 291,752 | 215,559 | 291,752 | 284,695 | ||||
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Income tax charges | (10,599) | (26,380) | (10,599) | (48,656) | ||||
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Profit for the quarter | 281,153 | 189,179 | 281,153 | 236,039 | ||||
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Profit attributable to: | ||||||||
Equity owners of our Company | 281,153 | 189,179 | 281,153 | 236,039 | ||||
Non-controlling interest | - | - | - | - | ||||
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281,153 | 189,179 | 281,153 | 236,039 | |||||
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Special cash dividends paid | - | - | - | 888,261 | ||||
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Earnings per share, basic (RMB) | RMB5.58 cents | RMB3.74 cents | RMB5.58 cents | RMB4.68 cents | ||||
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Earnings per share, diluted (RMB) | RMB5.53 cents | RMB3.74 cents | RMB5.53 cents | RMB4.65 cents | ||||
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Earnings per share, basic (HK$) (Note 3) | HK$6.33 cents | HK$4.24 cents | HK$6.33 cents | HK$5.31 cents | ||||
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Earnings per share, diluted (HK$) (Note 3) | HK$6.28 cents | HK$4.24 cents | HK$6.28 cents | HK$5.28 cents | ||||
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Note 3: The translation of Renminbi amounts into Hong Kong dollars has been made at the rate of RMB0.8814 and RMB0.8809 to HK$1.0000 for the third and fourth quarter of 2009 respectively (fourth quarter of 2008: RMB0.8814 to HK$1.0000).No representation is made that the Renminbi amounts have been, could have been or could be converted into Hong Kong dollars or vice versa, at that rate, or at any rate or at all. |
SUPPLEMENTARY QUARTERLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION (CONTINUED) | ||||||||
 |  |  |  | |||||
Q4 2009 | Q4 2008 | Q4 2009 | Q3 2009 | |||||
RMB'000 | RMB'000 | RMB'000 | RMB'000 | |||||
(Restated) | ||||||||
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Revenue | ||||||||
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International marketplace | ||||||||
China Gold Supplier | 669,159 | 475,437 | 669,159 | 622,824 | ||||
Global Gold Supplier | 17,943 | 12,083 | 17,943 | 16,515 | ||||
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687,102 | 487,520 | 687,102 | 639,339 | |||||
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China marketplace | ||||||||
China TrustPass | 379,373 | 294,069 | 379,373 | 358,877 | ||||
Other revenue (Note 4) | 22,628 | 22,691 | 22,628 | 19,442 | ||||
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402,001 | 316,760 | 402,001 | 378,319 | |||||
 | ||||||||
Others (Note 5) | 16,616 | 9,884 | 16,616 | 14,713 | ||||
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Total | 1,105,719 | 814,164 | 1,105,719 | 1,032,371 | ||||
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Recurring free cash flow (Non-GAAP) | ||||||||
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Net cash generated from operating activities | 986,360 | 552,505 | 986,360 | 418,497 | ||||
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Purchase of property and equipment, excluding payment for land use rights and construction costs of corporate campus project | (62,068) | (46,325) | (62,068) | (64,902) | ||||
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One off tax refund and others (Note 6) | (231,259) | - | (231,259) | - | ||||
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Total | 693,033 | 506,180 | 693,033 | 353,595 | ||||
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Share-based compensation expense | 57,512 | 47,325 | 57,512 | 52,473 |
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As of December 31, 2009 | As of December 31, 2008 | As of December 31, 2009 | As of September 30, 2009 | |||||||||
RMB'000 | RMB'000 | RMB'000 | RMB'000 | |||||||||
(Restated) | ||||||||||||
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Cash and bank balances | 7,216,445 | 6,612,324 | 7,216,445 | 6,389,641 | ||||||||
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Deferred revenue and customer advances | 3,436,975 | 2,294,397 | 3,436,975 | 2,968,517 | ||||||||
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Note 4: Other revenue earned with respect to our China marketplace mainly represents advertising fees paid by third party advertisers, some of which were earned through an agency arrangement with a subsidiary of our controlling shareholder. | ||||||||||||
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 Note 5: Other revenue mainly represents revenue earned from the sale of certain software products. | ||||||||||||
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 Note 6: One-off tax refund and others mainly represented a cash refund of prepaid tax received.Pursuant to the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and Guoshuihan [2008] No. 875, taxable income should be computed on an accrual basis for Enterprise Income Tax ("EIT") purpose.As a result, Alibaba China changed its EIT filing basis from cash basis to accrual basis in 2009 and a cash refund of RMB180 million, being tax prepaid under cash basis, was received in 2009. |
Contacts:
For Alibaba.com Limited
For investor inquiries please contact:
Lindy
Lau, +852 2215 5215
lindylau@hk.alibaba-inc.com
or
For
media inquiries please contact:
Linda Kozlowski, +852 9028 5150
lkozlowski@hk.alibaba-inc.com