China’s JD.com sees sales growth slow despite topping estimates
The Beijing-based e-commerce giant posted its fifth consecutive quarter of slower growth in an increasingly crowded domestic market
JD.com reported its slowest quarterly revenue growth since listing, indicating China’s second-largest e-commerce company is feeling the heat from mounting competition in an increasingly saturated domestic market.
The Beijing-based company’s revenue for the three months to March, while ahead of analysts’ average forecast, marked a fifth quarter of slower growth for the online retailer, at a time when Chinese e-commerce services providers – including rival Alibaba Group Holding – are grappling with a crowded market.
Both JD.com and Alibaba have been investing heavily in new business in an effort to tap fresh markets, but this has hurt their margins, as indicated by their latest financial results.
JD.com posted 101.1 billion yuan (US$15.9 billion) in revenue for the first quarter, versus analysts’ average estimate of 98.9 billion yuan.
That was up 33 per cent from a year ago, its slowest growth on record. At its peak in 2015, JD.com was clocking quarterly increases of around 60 per cent.
The retailer said it expected revenues to rise in the second quarter, driven by its flagship sale event “618”.