JD.com revenue jumps as pandemic boosts online shopping
Chinese retailer JD.com has beaten expectations for second-quarter sales as the pandemic continues to drive up demand for online shopping.
The tech giant reported a 26 per cent rise in net revenue to 253.8bn yuan (£28.6bn) in the three months to the end of June, beating analyst consensus of 249.27bn yuan.
Sales in its product segment, which includes online retail, rose over 23 per cent to 219.69bn yuan.
Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was 794.3m yuan, compared to 16.4bn for the same period last year.
JD.com is one of a number of retailers to benefit from store closures and an accelerated shift to online shopping as a result of the pandemic.
Global brands such as Louis Vuitton owner LVMH expanded partnerships with the company during the quarter, while other brands such as Estee Lauder launched flagship stores on its platform.
Annual active customer accounts increased by 27.4 per cent to 531.9m in the year to the end of June from 417.4m in the previous 12-month period.
But the results come as Chinese tech firms face a major regulatory crackdown by authorities in Beijing.
The regime has targeted a number of large companies in sectors including ecommerce, gaming, ride-hailing and cryptocurrency.
“Over the past 18 years since our founding, JD.com has always placed the interests of our customers, partners and employees foremost while upholding our long-standing business principle of doing business the right way,” said chairman and chief executive Richard Liu.
“Today, JD has become China’s leading supply chain-based technology and service company, serving a growing base of millions of partners and 532m customers. With hundreds of thousands of full-time employees and our next generation smart supply chain and infrastructure network, JD has become a new type of real-economy based enterprise supporting China’s development for the long-term.”