Alibaba Sees Growth Rising to 48 Percent in First Forecast

HANGZHOU, China — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said that revenue growth will accelerate this fiscal year as China's largest e-commerce company provided its first financial forecast since going public in 2014.

The company predicts sales will rise at least 48 percent in the year ending March 2017, up from 33 percent the previous year, as it pushes into new markets and businesses beyond e-commerce. That compares with analysts’ expectations for 40 percent growth.

The better-than-expected guidance reflects how Alibaba is moving into untapped rural markets, exploring business abroad and investing in new sources of income from online media to cloud computing. The company, which is trying to counter the impact of a slowing Chinese economy, bought Youku Tudou to expand into online video and Lazada Group SA to gain a foothold in Southeast Asia.

Sales should rise more than 36 percent this year if revenue from Lazada and Youku were excluded, chief financial officer Maggie Wu told an investor conference Tuesday.

Alibaba’s decision to release financial guidance comes after the US Securities Exchange Commission began looking into its accounting practices. The company is cooperating with the probe, which encompasses data reported from the company’s Singles’ Day promotion, Alibaba’s biggest shopping day, as well as how it consolidates results from affiliates such as logistics partner Cainiao.

Alibaba had excluded Cainiao from its results to comply with GAAP accounting rules, Wu said Tuesday.

By Lulu Yilun; editors: Robert Fenner, Edwin Chan and Peter Elstrom.