Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) posted its first operating loss as a public company in its fiscal fourth quarter as a massive antitrust fine it received last month weighed on its earnings, while revenue beat expectations.
Revenue came in at 187.39 billion yuan ($28.6 billion U.S.) vs. 180.41 billion yuan estimated, up 64% year-over-year.
Earnings per share registered 10.32 yuan per share ($1.58) vs. 11.12 yuan per share estimated, up 12% year-over-year.
Alibaba swung to a net loss in the March quarter of 5.47 billion yuan. The market had expected a net profit of 6.95 billion yuan, according to Refinitiv estimates.
Alibaba will be hoping the latest results might draw a line under the company’s recent troubles with regulators, which began when the $34.5 billion initial public offering of Ant Group, its financial technology affiliate, was pulled in November.
Since then, over $240 billion of value has been wiped off of Alibaba’s stock as regulatory scrutiny continued, including the massive 18.23 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) fine it received as a result of an anti-monopoly investigation.
Alibaba said its loss from operations was 7.66 billion yuan as a result of the fine. It is the first time Alibaba has reported an operating loss as a public company, CEO Daniel Zhang said Thursday. But excluding that, its income from operations would have been 10.56 billion yuan, a 48% year-on-year rise.
BABA shares lost $6.30, or 2.9%, in New York to $213.60.
