Alibaba.com said growth from mainland exporters, its major revenue source, will slow in the next 12 months due to the harsh macroeconomic environment.
The country's largest e-commerce company issued the caution yesterday as it reported net profit rose 158 per cent to 396.4 million yuan (HK$452.58 million), beating the consensus estimate of 307 million yuan.
'The economic winter is making it difficult for some of our customers to conduct business and, as a result, we have seen a slowdown in the addition of Gold Supplier members, which may continue until next year,' said chief executive David Wei Zhe.
Gold Supplier, a membership Alibaba sells to Chinese exporters for 50,000 yuan a year, contributed 61 per cent of the firm's revenues.
Sales of Gold Supplier grew 24 per cent to 452.5 million yuan in the second quarter from a year earlier, lagging behind the overall growth.
'We see difficulties in four out of the 40 sectors we have: textile, metal, garment and construction services,' said Mr Wei.
'It will be even worse in the second half.'