Alibaba reports slowest growth yet in March quarter amid Covid outbreaks

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on Thursday reported a single-digit increase in its fourth-quarter revenue, its slowest quarter yet as its online services and e-commerce businesses took a hit amid COVID-19 lockdowns across China.

Revenue increased 9% to 204.05 billion yuan ($30.3 billion) in the three months ended March, as its core e-commerce platforms Taobao and Tmall suffered from disruptions in supply chain and logistics and a dip in demand due to COVID-19 outbreaks in March, the company said.

The single-digit increase in revenue paled in comparison to the 64% increase in revenue growth during the same quarter last year.

But Alibaba’s sales growth still exceeded analyst estimates, and its New York-listed shares were up more than 9% in early trading.