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Hong Kong-listed digital healthcare platform Alibaba Health recorded RMB445.1 million ($63 million) in profit for the six months ending Sept. 30, the company said on Wednesday.
This is a 172% increase compared with the same period last year when the provider of online-to-offline medical services moved into the black for the first time.
Revenue also grew 12.7% year-on-year to about RMB12.9 billion during the period.
The reported growth is driven in part by “the continuous improvement in its delivery of medical and health services and product experience to users,” Alibaba Health noted in a filing with Hong Kong’s stock exchange.
The day before, the company announced the purchase of marketing tools from Taobao, an e-commerce unit of Alibaba Group, which controls Alibaba Health as well.
The HK$13.51 billion ($1.7 billion) deal will allow the platform to “optimise healthcare merchants’ marketing efficiency and return on investment,” it noted in an exchange filing.
Solid Performance
Revenue from Alibaba Health’s healthcare and digital services business grew 16.4% year-on-year to RMB488.1 million over the reporting period, with over 30,000 additional licensed physicians, pharmacists and nutritionists bringing the number of medical professionals on Alibaba Health to more than 210,000.
Their services are complemented by an ever-growing range of medical products available for sale.
The number of items available on Alibaba Health quadrupled year-on-year over the reporting period to exceed 64 million stock keeping units sold by more than 32,000 merchants.
The platform’s pharmaceutical direct sales business also reported signs of growth, keeping the company on track to reach its goal of “serving 500 million people within five years,” according to the report.
As part of the direct sales approach, users from Alibaba Group platforms, including Tmall, Taobao, Alipay, Taobao Deals and Ele.me can use the platform to access services ranging from prescription medication and nutritional supplements to medical devices and contact lenses.
Revenue from this business rose 13.5% year-on-year to RMB11.4 billion during the reporting period, with the number of members in its direct online stores growing 21% to 77 million.
