Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com notches Q3 revenue growth

Beijing - Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com announced accelerated third-quarter growth on Thursday, a positive sign for the firm as it grapples with lacklustre consumer spending and tough competition with its main competitor, Alibaba.

Total revenue during the three-month period ended September 30 was 260.4 billion yuan (36 billion dollars), up 5.1 percent year-on-year, a filing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed.

Revenue growth picked up from the slower 1.7 percent expansion recorded in the same period last year.

The latest quarter also saw JD.com record surging net income of 11.7 billion yuan (1.6 billion dollars), up 47.8 percent year-on-year, the filing showed.

"We saw an uptick in our topline growth, as well as healthy profitability in the third quarter, as overall consumer sentiment continued to brighten," Chief Executive Officer Sandy Xu said in the statement.

Consumer spending in China has not fully recovered since the end of the pandemic, presenting a hurdle for JD.com and its e-commerce sector peers.

The firm's latest results -- as well as Alibaba's expected third-quarter filing on Friday -- are being closely scrutinised by analysts and investors for signs that recent measures taken by the government to boost activity are having an impact.

Beijing-based JD.com is a top player in China's vast e-commerce sector, where it is engaged in a prolonged battle for market share with archrival Alibaba.

Both firms announced strong performances in the annual "Singles Day" shopping bonanza that ended earlier this week, though they stopped short of publishing detailed sales totals.(AFP)