What’s new: Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. recorded an 18% rise in revenue for the first quarter, the slowest pace since it went public in 2014 in New York.
Sales for the January to March period rose to 239.7 billion yuan ($35.6 billion), slightly higher than analysts forecast. The net loss totaled 3 billion yuan in the quarter, compared with 3.6 billion yuan of net profit in the same period a year ago, the company said Tuesday.
JD’s stock in New York climbed more than 7% to close at $214.80 apiece.
The context: JD’s slower growth reflected a nationwide consumption slump as strict virus control measures restricted people’s movement and snarled logistics.
In the first quarter, China’s total online retail sales increased 6.6% year-on-year, down 3.4 percentage points from a year ago to the lowest level in nearly two years.
Affected by the latest outbreaks, JD experienced a decline in the average customer’s expenditure in April and May, although the number of users keeps growing, according to CEO Xu Lei.
As of the end of March, JD had 580 million annual active users, 10.8 million more than at the end of 2021.
JD lost about 50% of its market value from last year’s peak due to concerns over the effects of China’s Covid control policies and the U.S. delisting risks affecting many Chinese stocks.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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