Chinese e-commerce company JD.com Inc reported a 31% jump in fourth-quarter revenue as more shoppers flocked to its website on the back of a broader shift to online shopping triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
While China has largely emerged from coronavirus lockdowns with most businesses resuming production, JD.com's domestic consumers continue to shop online for everything from daily groceries to luxury products.
Expansion
The company has also been working to expand into price-sensitive lower-tier cities through its shopping platform Jingxi in a bid to stave off stiff competition from rivals like Alibaba and Pinduoduo that are equally popular.
JD.com said product revenue, which includes online retail sales, rose about 28% to 192.2 billion yuan during the quarter.
The world's second-largest economy has vowed to strengthen oversight of its big tech firms, which rank among the world's largest and most valuable, citing concerns they have built market power that stifles competition, misused consumer data and violated consumer rights.
Long-Term Impact
The long-term impact of this on JD.com's business, though unclear, remains a threat. In late December, regulators fined the company, along with Alibaba and other e-commerce sites, 500,000 yuan for engaging in irregular pricing.
The company's net revenue rose to 224.3 billion yuan ($34.58 billion) in the quarter ended 31 December, beating analysts' estimate of 219.73 billion yuan, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Excluding items, JD.com posted a profit of 1.49 yuan per American depository share, compared with analysts' expectation of 1.21 yuan.
