Alibaba Pictures lost $24M in first semester amid twists and turns

Alibaba Pictures Group announced Friday that it lost 151.8 million Yuan ($24 million) in the first half of 2015.

The loss is due to the transformation the company is undergoing. According to the company, most of its projects are still under the investment stage, and its profit is not yet included in the revenue report of the period.

Alibaba Group head Jack Ma expanded its operations into the entertainment industry right before its IPO and stock exchange listing in New York in autumn. The tech giant bought 60% stake in ChinaVision Media Group for $805 million in June 2014. After the announcement of the acquisition, ChinaVision's stock tripled. The company changed its name to Alibaba Pictures in August.

Alibaba Group Holding's shares were greatly affected in 2015, losing some 27.5% year to date. But the question is whether it can rise back up to its $100 mark or more. This is a big contrast to the successful IPO in New York with stocks up to 38% over $68 floatation price.

That IPO raised $21.8 billion, valuing Alibaba at $231 billion. It is considered the biggest IPO in the history of the stock market in the US. On August 14, the stock closed at $75.11 on the New York Stock Exchange. This is an increase by $1.73. This indicates its market capitalization of $184.4 billion. This is not such good news for those who invested in the shares after it peaked to $120 in November 2014.

Alibaba Pictures Group said it is not interested in short term profitability. What it's after is to contribute to the development of Chinese cultural and entertainment industries.

In a regulatory statement, the film-making unit of the Chinese e-commerce giant said, "The industry at present does not have an entertainment company that can play a leading role at a fundamental level, not to mention across the entire ecosystem chain.

Nor does it have one that can drive efficiencies and increase in production across the entire industry."