Ant Group profit falls 56% amid overhaul

Ant Group Co.'s quarterly profit fell 56% as the fintech giant shifted its focus from expansion to regulatory compliance, and the company saw a decrease in investment gains.

The Hangzhou-based company contributed nearly 3.18 billion yuan ($452 million) in profit to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in the three months ended December 31, a filing showed Thursday. Based on Alibaba's one-third stake in Ant, that translates to an estimated 9.6 billion yuan in profit for Ant. That compares with an 83% fall in the previous quarter. Ant's earnings lag a quarter behind Alibaba's.

The company declined to comment in an emailed statement.


Ant is waiting for a financial holding company license, more than two years after authorities torpedoed its planned initial public offering. The company's valuation was trimmed by Fidelity Investments again to $63.8 billion as of November, far below its peak of $235 billion.