BEIJING, May 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: JD and HKEX: 9618 (HKD counter) and 89618 (RMB counter), the "Company"), a leading supply chain-based technology and service provider, today announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. First Quarter 2024 Highlights Net revenues were RMB260.0 billion (US$136.0 billion) for the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 7.0% from the first quarter of 2023. Income from operations was RMB7.7 billion (US$1.1 billion) for the first quarter of 2024, compared to RMB6.4 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP2 income from operations was RMB8.9 billion (US$1.2 billion) for the first quarter of 2024, compared to RMB7.9 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Net income attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders was RMB7.1 billion (US$1.0 billion) for the first quarter of 2024, compared to RMB6.3 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Net margin attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders was 2.7% for the first quarter of 2024, compared to 2.6% for the first quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders was RMB8.9 billion (US$1.2 billion) for the first quarter of 2024, compared to RMB7.6 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP net margin attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders was 3.4% for the first quarter of 2024, compared to 3.1% for the first quarter of 2023. Diluted net income per ADS was RMB4.53 (US$0.63) for the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 15.3% from RMB3.93 for the first quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP diluted net income per ADS was RMB5.65 (US$0.78) for the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 18.7% from RMB4.76 for the first quarter of 2023. "We are pleased to kick off the year with a solid performance for the first quarter," said Sandy Xu, Chief Executive Officer of JD.com. "The year of 2024 is marked with execution, and we are already seeing measurable results across the business. In particular, in the first quarter, our focus on user experience helped to drive strong growth in the number of active users as well as user engagement. We are confident that we will further build on our momentum in the months ahead as JD's commitment to providing the best combination of selection, speed, quality and price continues to attract Chinese consumers nationwide. We are approaching the 10th anniversary of our listing on Nasdaq in 2024, and we believe we are well-positioned to continue to create value to our users, employees, shareholders and the society as a whole in the next chapter." "We delivered solid financial results this quarter with accelerated revenue growth and healthy profitability, as our focus on execution led to improved operational efficiencies," said Ian Su Shan, Chief Financial Officer of JD.com. "We were pleased to see our general merchandise category continue to pick up momentum, thanks to the robust recovery of supermarket category, which reflects JD's ability to deliver the best product quality and selection, price competitiveness and customer service. During the quarter, we also continued to execute on our share repurchase program which, alongside our annual dividend, underscores the Company's healthy profitability, sound balance sheet, and commitment to returning value to shareholders." Updates of Share Repurchase Program During the period from January 1, 2024 to May 15, 2024, the Company repurchased a total of 98.3 million Class A ordinary shares (equivalent of 49.2 million ADSs) for a total of US$1.3 billion. All of these shares were repurchased in the open markets from both Nasdaq and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange pursuant to the Company's share repurchase programs publicly announced. The total number of shares repurchased by the Company during the period from January 1, 2024 to May 15, 2024 amounted to approximately 3.1% of its ordinary shares outstanding as of December 31, 20233. Pursuant to the Company's previous share repurchase program, expired on March 17, 2024, the Company had repurchased a total of approximately US$2.1 billion as of March 17, 2024. Pursuant to the Company's new share repurchase program, which is effective through March 18, 2027, the Company had repurchased a total of approximately US$0.7 billion as of May 15, 2024. The remaining amount under the Company's new share repurchase program was US$2.3 billion as of May 15, 2024. 10th Anniversary of Listing on Nasdaq JD.com will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its listing on Nasdaq on May 22, 2024. In the past decade, it has scaled its businesses with total revenues expanding 16 times from RMB69.3 billion in 2013 prior to its listing to RMB1.1 trillion in 2023, and Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders growing 157 folds from RMB223.9 million to RMB35.2 billion. The total amount it has returned to its shareholders through dividends and share buybacks has surpassed the total capital raised during the past ten years. The Company has also created full-time jobs to 517,124 employees with social insurance and housing fund benefits as of the end of 2023, representing a 13-time increase compared to ten years ago. JD.com had a proven track record in the past decade, and will continue to create value to its users, employees, shareholders, and the society as a whole in the next chapter. Business Highlights JD Retail：On April 16, 2024, JD.com introduced an AI digital representative of its founder and chairman of the board, Mr. Richard Qiangdong Liu, to join its supermarket, home appliances and home goods livestreaming rooms, drawing over 20 million views within the first hour. It marks the industry's first livestreaming hosted by an AI avatar of an entrepreneur. With this, the Company will make further efforts to build its content ecosystem. JD's livestreaming featured its procurement and sales managers is committed to providing users with more affordable and hassle-free livestreaming shopping experience with its price competitiveness, quality products and superior services. JD Health: During the first quarter, JD Health partnered with multiple pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer and Sanofi, to debut new and specialty drugs online, continuing to enhance medicine accessibility. JD Health also expanded collaborations with Shanghai Pharmaceuticals, Daiichi Sankyo, Sunshine Mandi Pharmaceutical, and others to further upgrade its one-stop experience of medicine retailing and healthcare services. JD Logistics: JD Logistics continues to help Chinese brands expand overseas with one-stop service offerings. In the first quarter, JD Logistics provided MINISO with integrated supply chain services covering warehousing and fulfillment for MINISO stores in Australia and Malaysia. The two parties will further explore global cooperation opportunities. Environment, Social and Governance Driven by JD.com's unwavering commitment and unremitting efforts to creating more jobs and making contribution to the society, the Company's total expenditure for human resources, including both its own employees and external personnel who work for the Company, amounted to RMB106.6 billion for the twelve months ended March 31, 2024. First Quarter 2024 Financial Results Net Revenues. Net revenues increased by 7.0% to RMB260.0 billion (US$36.0 billion) for the first quarter of 2024 from RMB243.0 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Net product revenues increased by 6.6%, while net service revenues increased by 8.8% for the first quarter of 2024, compared to the first quarter of 2023. Cost of Revenues. Cost of revenues increased by 6.4% to RMB220.3 billion (US$30.5 billion) for the first quarter of 2024 from RMB206.9 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Fulfillment Expenses. Fulfillment expenses, which primarily include procurement, warehousing, delivery, customer service and payment processing expenses, increased by 9.3% to RMB16.8 billion (US$2.3 billion) for the first quarter of 2024 from RMB15.4 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Fulfillment expenses as a percentage of net revenues was 6.5% for the first quarter of 2024, compared to 6.3% for the first quarter of 2023. The increase was in relation to the adoption of lower threshold for free shipping services. Marketing Expenses. Marketing expenses increased by 15.6% to RMB9.3 billion (US$1.3 billion) for the first quarter of 2024 from RMB8.0 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Marketing expenses as a percentage of net revenues was 3.6% for the first quarter of 2024, compared to 3.3% for the first quarter of 2023. The increase was mainly due to the increased spending in promotion activities including the Spring Festival Gala sponsorship. Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses decreased by 3.6% to RMB4.0 billion (US$0.6 billion) for the first quarter of 2024 from RMB4.2 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Research and development expenses as a percentage of net revenues was 1.6% for the first quarter of 2024, compared to 1.7% for the first quarter of 2023. General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses decreased by 21.0% to RMB2.0 billion (US$0.3 billion) for the first quarter of 2024 from RMB2.5 billion for the first quarter of 2023, primarily due to a decrease in share-based compensation expenses. General and administrative expenses as a percentage of net revenues was 0.8% for the first quarter of 2024, compared to 1.0% for the first quarter of 2023. Income from Operations and Non-GAAP Income from Operations.   Income from operations increased by 19.8% to RMB7.7 billion (US$1.1 billion) for the first quarter of 2024 from RMB6.4 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Operating margin was 3.0% for the first quarter of 2024, compared to 2.6% for the first quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP income from operations increased by 12.7% to RMB8.9 billion (US$1.2 billion) for the first quarter of 2024 from RMB7.9 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP operating margin was 3.4% for the first quarter of 2024, compared to 3.2% for the first quarter of 2023. Operating margin of JD Retail before unallocated items was 4.1% for the first quarter of 2024, compared to 4.6% for the first quarter of 2023, as the Company continues to invest in user experience. Non-GAAP EBITDA. Non-GAAP EBITDA increased by 13.6% to RMB10.8 billion (US$1.5 billion) for the first quarter of 2024 from RMB9.5 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP EBITDA margin was 4.1% for the first quarter of 2024, compared to 3.9% for the first quarter of 2023. Others, net. Other non-operating income was RMB2.7 billion (US$0.4 billion) for the first quarter of 2024, compared to RMB2.8 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Net Income Attributable to the Company's Ordinary Shareholders and Non-GAAP Net Income Attributable to the Company's Ordinary Shareholders. Net income attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders increased by 13.9% to RMB7.1 billion (US$1.0 billion) for the first quarter of 2024 from RMB6.3 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Net margin attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders was 2.7% for the first quarter of 2024, compared to 2.6% for the first quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders increased by 17.2% to RMB8.9 billion (US$1.2 billion) for the first quarter of 2024 from RMB7.6 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP net margin attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders was 3.4% for the first quarter of 2024, compared to 3.1% for the first quarter of 2023. Diluted EPS and Non-GAAP Diluted EPS. Diluted net income per ADS increased by 15.3% to RMB4.53 (US$0.63) for the first quarter of 2024 from RMB3.93 for the first quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP diluted net income per ADS increased by 18.7% for the first quarter of 2024 to RMB5.65 (US$0.78) from RMB4.76 for the first quarter of 2023. Cash Flow and Working Capital As of March 31, 2024, the Company's cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments totaled RMB179.3 billion (US$24.8 billion), compared to RMB197.7 billion as of December 31, 2023. For the first quarter of 2024, free cash flow of the Company was as follows:     For the three months ended     March 31,2023 March 31,2024 March 31,2024     RMB RMB US$     (In millions)       Net cash used in operating activities   (21,607 )   (11,315 )   (1,567 ) Less: Impact from consumer financing receivables included in the operating cash flow   (582 )   (1,281 )   (177 ) Less: Capital expenditures, net of related sales proceeds     　 　 Capital expenditures for development properties   (2,145 )   (1,360 )   (188 ) Other capital expenditures*   (1,068 )   (1,520 )   (211 ) Free cash flow   (25,402 )   (15,476 )   (2,143 )           * Including capital expenditures related to the Company's headquarters in Beijing and all other CAPEX. Net cash provided by investing activities was RMB28.4 billion (US$3.9 billion) for the first quarter of 2024, consisting primarily of the cash receipt from maturity in short-term investments, partially offset by cash paid for purchase of short-term investments and capital expenditures. Net cash used in financing activities was RMB7.4 billion (US$1.0 billion) for the first quarter of 2024, consisting primarily of cash paid for share repurchase. For the twelve months ended March 31, 2024, free cash flow of the Company was as follows:     For the twelve months ended     March 31,2023 March 31,2024 March 31,2024     RMB RMB US$     (In millions)       Net cash provided by operating activities   39,697     69,813     9,669   Add/(Less): Impact from consumer financing receivables included in the operating cash flow   908     (1,191 )   (165 ) Less: Capital expenditures, net of related sales proceeds     　 　 Capital expenditures for development properties   (16,974 )   (11,332 )   (1,569 ) Other capital expenditures   (4,641 )   (6,713 )   (930 ) Free cash flow   18,990     50,577     7,005             Supplemental Information From the first quarter of 2024, the Company started to report three segments, JD Retail, JD Logistics and New Businesses, to reflect changes made to the reporting structure whose financial information is reviewed by the chief operating decision maker of the Company under its ongoing operating strategies. JD Retail, including JD Health and JD Industrials, among other components, mainly engages in online retail, online marketplace and marketing services in China. JD Logistics includes both internal and external logistics businesses. New Businesses mainly include Dada, JD Property, Jingxi and overseas businesses. The table below sets forth the segment operating results, with prior period segment information retrospectively recast to conform to current period presentation:   For the three months ended   March 31,2023 March 31,2024 March 31,2024   RMB RMB US$   (In millions, except percentage data) Net revenues:       JD Retail 212,358     226,835     31,416   JD Logistics 36,728     42,137     5,836   New Businesses 6,026     4,870     675   Inter-segment eliminations* (12,156 )   (13,793 )   (1,911 ) Total consolidated net revenues 242,956     260,049     36,016   Operating income/(loss):       JD Retail 9,844     9,325     1,291   JD Logistics (1,123 )   224     31   New Businesses (374 )   (670 )   (94 ) Including: gain on sale of development properties 472     —     —   Total segment operating income 8,347     8,879     1,228   Unallocated items** (1,920 )   (1,179 )   (162 ) Total consolidated operating income 6,427     7,700     1,066           YoY% change of net revenues:       JD Retail (2.4 )%   6.8 %     JD Logistics 34.3 %   14.7 %     New Businesses (6.5 )%   (19.2 )%             Operating margin:       JD Retail 4.6 %   4.1 %     JD Logistics (3.1 )%   0.5 %     New Businesses (6.2 )%   (13.8 )%                     * The inter-segment eliminations mainly consist of revenues from supply chain solutions and logistics services provided by JD Logistics to JD Retail, on-demand delivery and retail services provided by Dada to JD Retail and JD Logistics, and property leasing services provided by JD Property to JD Logistics. ** Unallocated items include share-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets resulting from assets and business acquisitions, effects of business cooperation arrangements, and impairment of goodwill and intangible assets, which are not allocated to segments. The table below sets forth the revenue information:   For the three months ended     March 31,2023   March 31,2024   March 31,2024   YoY%Change   RMB   RMB   US$       (In millions, except percentage data) Electronics and home appliances revenues 116,999   123,212   17,065   5.3 % General merchandise revenues 78,565   85,296   11,813   8.6 % Net product revenues 195,564   208,508   28,878   6.6 % Marketplace and marketing revenues 19,062   19,289   2,671   1.2 % Logistics and other service revenues 28,330   32,252   4,467   13.8 % Net service revenues 47,392   51,541   7,138   8.8 % Total net revenues 242,956   260,049   36,016   7.0 %                   Conference Call JD.com's management will hold a conference call at 8:00 am, Eastern Time on May 16, 2024, (8:00 pm, Beijing/Hong Kong Time on May 16, 2024) to discuss the first quarter of 2024 financial results. Please register in advance of the conference using the link provided below and dial in 15 minutes prior to the call, using participant dial-in numbers, the Passcode and unique access PIN which would be provided upon registering. You will be automatically linked to the live call after completion of this process, unless required to provide the conference ID below due to regional restrictions. PRE-REGISTER LINK: https://s1.c-conf.com/diamondpass/10038661-imny0f.html CONFERENCE ID: 10038661 A telephone replay will be available for one week until May 23, 2024. The ...