JD.com's First-Quarter Sales Exceed Expectations, Boosted by Price Cuts
JD.com reports a 7% increase in first-quarter sales, surpassing analysts' estimates. Revenue rises to 260 billion yuan, driven by electronics, home appliances, general merchandise, and logistics services. Net income attributable to shareholders increases by nearly 14% to 7.1 billion yuan.
The company's revenue rose to 260 billion yuan (approximately US$36 billion) in the March quarter, driven by strong performance in electronics, home appliances, general merchandise, and logistics services. This figure exceeded the average forecast of 257.72 billion yuan from 21 analysts. Net income attributable to shareholders also saw a significant increase of nearly 14% to 7.1 billion yuan compared to the same period last year.
JD.com's CEO, Sandy Xu Ran, expressed satisfaction with the company's performance, stating, "The year 2024 is marked with execution, and we are already seeing measurable results across the business." Xu Ran attributed the strong growth to the company's focus on user experience, which has led to an increase in the number of active users and user engagement.
Following the positive financial results, JD.com's shares in Hong Kong closed 2.56% higher at HK$132.40. Its US-listed shares also experienced a 3% increase in premarket trading and have risen more than 16% this year.
The company's success reflects the expansion of China's online retail market, which saw total sales rise by 12.4% year on year to 3.3 trillion yuan in the first quarter. This growth was primarily driven by service-based consumption, according to data published by the Ministry of Commerce.
JD.com's Chief Financial Officer, Ian Shan Su, expressed confidence in the company's full-year growth, stating, "We're confident that our full-year growth will outpace China's total retail sales of consumer goods."
In addition to its financial performance, JD.com has also focused on returning value to shareholders. The company repurchased 98.3 million Class A ordinary shares, worth a total of US$1.3 billion, as part of its share-repurchase program. This demonstrates the company's commitment to its profitability and sound balance sheet.
JD Retail, which includes JD Health and JD Industrials, contributed 226.83 billion yuan to the company's total revenue in the first quarter, marking a 6.8% increase from the previous year. JD Logistics, covering both internal and external logistics operations, generated approximately 42.14 billion yuan in revenue, a 15% increase from the previous year. However, revenue from the New Businesses group, including on-demand delivery platform Dada, JD Property, and overseas enterprises, experienced a 19.2% decline year on year, amounting to 4.87 billion yuan.
JD.com will soon celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Nasdaq listing on May 22. Over the past decade, the company has experienced significant growth, with total revenue expanding 16 times from 69.3 billion yuan to 1.1 trillion yuan last year. The company has also created numerous job opportunities, employing 517,124 full-time employees with social insurance and housing fund benefits.
JD.com reports a 7% increase in first-quarter sales, surpassing analysts' estimates.
Revenue rises to 260 billion yuan, driven by electronics, home appliances, general merchandise, and logistics services.
Net income attributable to shareholders increases by nearly 14% to 7.1 billion yuan.
Source: SCMP