Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group reported a surge in first-quarter profit, aided by strong revenue growth.

Results were driven by its strong mobile user base, partly offset by weak margins.

Alibaba, which accounts for about 80% of all Chinese e-commerce, said revenue in the second quarter increased 46% year-on-year to $2.54bn, a faster pace than the 38.7% revenue growth that posted in the first quarter.

Net income attributable to Alibaba’s ordinary shareholders nearly tripled to $1.99 billion, or 84 cents per share, in the quarter.

Mobile revenue was roughly a third of its total transaction volume in the three months ended 30 June, up from 27.4% in the first three months of the year.

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"Our current focus is on increasing mobile (gross merchandise volume) and user engagement," Alibaba said in a US regulatory filing.

The company operates China’s largest online shopping destination, Taobao Marketplace, and third-party platform for brands and retailers, Tmall. It also operates Juhuasuan, China’s most popular group buying marketplace by monthly active users.

In July, Alibaba announced plans to launch its initial public offering process in US.

The retailer is expected to raise $20bn, which is set to be the most high-profile public offering since Facebook listing nearly two years ago.