Alibaba.com reported a higher-than-expected 340% increase in net profit for 2007, Reuters reported. The business-to-business e-commerce site registered profits of US$136.7 million for 2007, beating Goldman Sachs’s forecast of US$134 million. Revenue rose by 59% to US$305 million. The site’s registered users increased by 40% to 27.6 million and paying users increased 39% to more than 305,000. The firm doubled its offices across China to 30 and opened its first European branch office, in Geneva. Alibaba.com stock, listed in Hong Kong, had dropped by more than 44% this year, compared to a 24% drop in the Hang Seng Index overall. Alibaba.com closed yesterday at HK$12.20 (US$1.72), below its IPO price of HK$13.50 (US$1.90) in November 2007, and well below the HK$39.50 (US$5.09) price it touched in its first day of trading.
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