By Tracy Qu


Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com reported higher profit and revenue in the third quarter despite fierce competition from Alibaba Group and PDD Holdings, as consumer sentiment improved.

The Beijing-based company said Thursday that net profit jumped 48% from a year earlier to 11.73 billion yuan, equivalent to $1.62 billion. That beat the 9.45 billion yuan estimate in a FactSet poll of analysts.

Revenue increased 5.1% to 260.39 billion yuan during the quarter, lower than a FactSet estimate of 262.63 billion yuan.

"We saw an uptick in our top-line growth, as well as healthy profitability in the third quarter, as overall consumer sentiment continued to brighten," Chief Executive Sandy Xu said. The online retailer was also "able to play an important role in China's trade-in program," she said.

The results were an encouraging sign given the intense competition the company faces in its home market from Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall platforms and PDD's Pinduoduo, among others, amid a slowing Chinese economy.

Citi analysts led by Alicia Yap said the profit figure strongly beat both its own and consensus estimates. They said in a note that JD benefited from a deeper partnership with the government and was able to "timely capture the government-backed trade-in programs."

Adjusted net profit, which excludes share-based compensation and fair-value changes of long-term investments, among other items, rose 24% to 13.17 billion yuan for the quarter.

Retail sales, which make up the bulk of the company's revenue, rose 6.1%, while logistics sales increased 7.9%.

Earlier this week, JD.com said the number of active buyers during this year's Singles' Day shopping festival rose 20%, according to an official WeChat account article. It didn't disclose figures for home-appliance sales nor the total gross merchandise value.

JD's Hong Kong-listed shares have risen about 20% this year, outperforming the benchmark Hang Seng Index's 14% gain. China's stimulus package in late September boosted stocks across various sectors, including JD's, though its shares have since lost some steam.

Rival Alibaba is scheduled to report its quarterly results on Friday.


Write to Tracy Qu at tracy.qu@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-14-24 0640ET