JD.com posted first quarterly profit since its Nasdaq listing
The e-commerce player recorded a net profit of 239 million yuan in the quarter ended March, boosted by strong consumption in China and its partnership with Wal-Mart
JD.com Inc, China’s second-largest e-commerce player is focused on capitalising on Chinese consumers’ demand for quality products and its partnership with Wal-Mart to drive further growth after it posted its first quarterly profit since its Nasdaq listing in 2014.
The company reported on Monday sales of 76.2 billion yuan (US$11 billion) for quarter ended March, beating analysts’ consensus at 73.5 billion yuan.
The Beijing-based company, which has become an alliance of Wal-Mart since acquiring its online operation in China in 2016, earned a net profit of 239 million yuan for the quarter ended March, contrary to an estimated loss of 851 million yuan by analysts.
“The strong results across the board reflect that the Chinese market is embracing our model of a high-quality online shopping experience,” said Richard Liu, Chairman and CEO of JD.com in a statement.
Walmart increased its own stake in JD.com to 12.1 per cent after selling its own China e-commerce operation to JD.com in exchange for a 5 per cent stake in the Chinese e-commerce operator in June 2016.
“In particular, JD posted net profit for the first time and whilst it may slip back into losses in later quarters, the solid report today lends confidence that long-term margin targets are achievable,” said Kirk Boodry, analyst with New Street Research.