JD.com beats forecasts with 22 percent revenue rise

JD.com Inc, China’s second largest e-commerce firm, reported a 22.4 rise in fourth-quarter revenue on Thursday, beating analyst estimates on the back of stronger online retail sales and sending its U.S.-listed shares up 8 percent.

The results, boosted by the company’s November sale promotions, defy a wider drop-off in consumer spending in China in recent months.

The results still represent the company’s slowest quarterly revenue growth since its 2015 initial public offering, as an economic slowdown continues to impact China’s top ecommerce companies.

JD.com’s sales are seasonally high in the fourth quarter due to promotions surrounding “Single’s Day”, a China-wide online shopping frenzy that peaks on November 11.

For the current quarter, JD expects revenue of between 118 billion yuan and 122 billion yuan. That compares to a consensus analysts’ estimate of 119.48 billion yuan according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

JD, which is backed by Walmart Inc, Alphabet Inc’s Google and China’s Tencent Holdings, posted a net loss of 3.32 yuan or 48 cents per American depository share, compared with a loss of 0.64 yuan a year earlier.

The firm posted 134.83 billion yuan ($20.17 billion) total net revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 compared with a consensus estimate of 132.42 billion yuan.

Analysts and executives in the industry have pointed to lower sales of big ticket items, including smartphones and appliances, as the driving factor behind lower sales on JD.com and competitor Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

Full year revenue for 2018 was 462.02 billion, up 27.5 percent from 362.3 billion in 2017, beating analyst expectations and China’s wider internet industry, which has seen full-year revenue rise on average 20.3 percent, according to China’s industry ministry.