Beijing: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding has seen some early success in its effort to cut costs, according to its most recent financial results and analyst estimates.

The Hangzhou-based company that owns the South China Morning Post was able to grow its adjusted earnings by 19% despite only 3% growth in revenue, according to its financial report released on Thursday.

In the three months ended September 30, Alibaba cut 1,797 jobs as part of its cost-cutting initiatives. It has cut losses across the board. For example, the adjusted loss from its digital media and entertainment business declined to 117 million yuan (US$16.4 million) from 931 million yuan.

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The company's logistics division, Cainiao, reported income of 125 million yuan, turning in a loss of 315 million yuan over the previous year.

While earnings in Alibaba's primary e-commerce business rose 6%, losses on Taobao Deals, an online grocery service built to compete against Pinduoduo and Taokaikai, a discount-focused shopping app, widened to 2.48 billion from a year earlier. yuan to 960 million yuan.

"Adjusted net income was much better than expected," according to Tsz Wang Tam, an equity analyst at DBS Bank based in Hong Kong. Although not particularly strong, revenue growth met expectations.

The increased scrutiny by Alibaba of its spending is taking place against a backdrop of Chinese economic headwinds.

The world's second-largest economy grew just 3% from January to September, well short of an annual target of "about 5.5%" because of Beijing's strict zero-tolerance Covid-19 policy, which includes border checks and sudden lockdowns.

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Social retail sales rose 0.6% in the first 10 months of the year compared to the same period last year, while retail sales, a gauge of consumer spending, declined 0.5% from a year in October, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. before

The third quarter saw a 1% year-over-year decline in Alibaba's China commerce sales, which include revenue from its two biggest shopping platforms, Taobao and Tmall.

In a conference call on Thursday, Alibaba President and CEO Daniel Zhang Yong said the macro environment will be the key determining factor for all players in the consumption sector, both online and offline.

Extensive efforts in efficiency improvement and cost reduction measures are beginning to pay off, he continued.

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Over the past two years, Beijing has announced debt exemptions for a number of underdeveloped countries, particularly in Africa. However, no overall data has been made public.
Jin Zhongxia, a former executive director for China at the International Monetary Fund, stated in a speech given in September that debtor countries should bear the bulk of the blame.
In addition to improving internal coordination, Chinese creditors "will strengthen communication and cooperation with the IMF and other official creditors," the official creditor said.
Using the informal group of creditors known as the Paris Club as an example, he said, "Once there's a chance, we'll try our best to communicate with the Paris Club to reach an ultimate solution."