JD.com Inc. (JD), China's second largest e-commerce company next to Alibaba, announced on Monday a 61-percent increase in its third-quarter revenue, largely because of the more-than-double growth in the number of its customers that are now 46.1 million people.
The Chinese e-tailer said that its revenue rose to 29 billion yuan ($4.73 billion) in the three months through September, according to Reuters. It also said it is expecting its fourth-quarter revenue to reach between 32 and 33 billion yuan ($5.2-5.4 billion) as it continues to invest in logistics and implement market campaigns aimed at penetrating deeper into China's smaller cities.
The company invested $342 million during the quarter in the expansion of its order fulfillment and delivery operations and spent $143.4 million for marketing and promotions.
JD's founder and CEO Richard Liu (also known as Liu Qiangdong) said in a statement: "We maintained excellent momentum in the third quarter as we saw stronger-than-expected year-over-year growth in both gross merchandise volume and active customer accounts. We solidified our market leadership through multiple initiatives to enhance customer experience, extend coverage in lower-tier cities, increase mobile penetration and position JD.com as the most trusted e-commerce platform in China."
During the third quarter, JD's gross merchandise volume rose 111 percent to $11 billion; active customer accounts more than doubled to 46.1 million; and 178.2 million orders were placed by customers, up by 119 percent.
The e-tailer has 50,000 merchants on its online marketplace, 118 warehouses and a delivery network spanning 1,855 counties and districts.
Notwithstanding the 61-percent increase in its net revenue, JD reported that its third-quarter earnings reversed to a loss, according to Forbes, primarily due to the amortization of intangible assets in connection with its strategic partnership deal with Tencent.
The partnership deal allows JD to access the online gaming and mobile messaging giant's vast user base, thus improving its ability to target audiences, notably through Tencent's WeChat and mobile QQ platform.
JD's net loss was reported at $26.8 million, according to Investors.