JD.com beats second-quarter sales estimates

Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com Inc on Monday beat analysts' expectations for quarterly revenue, boosted by strong demand for online shopping triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Net revenue at JD.com rose about 26% to 253.8 billion yuan ($39.14 billion) in the second quarter ended June 30. Analysts had expected revenue of 249.27 billion yuan, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Q2 2021 JD.Com Inc Earnings Conference Call

Second Quarter 2021 Highlights

• Net revenues for the second quarter of 2021 were RMB253.8 billion (US$139.3 billion), an increase of 26.2% from the second quarter of 2020. Net service revenues for the second quarter of 2021 were RMB34.1 billion (US$5.3 billion), an increase of 49.2% from the second quarter of 2020.
• Income from operations for the second quarter of 2021 was RMB300.8 million (US$46.6 million), compared to RMB5.0 billion for the same period last year.Non-GAAP2income from operations for the second quarter of 2021 was RMB2.5 billion (US$0.4 billion), compared to RMB5.6 billion for the second quarter of 2020. Operating margin of JD Retail before unallocated items for the second quarter of 2021 was 2.6%, remained stable compared with the second quarter of 20203.
• Net incomeattributable to ordinary shareholders for the second quarter of 2021 was RMB794.3 million (US$123.0 million), compared to RMB16.4 billion for the same period last year.Non-GAAP net incomeattributable to ordinary shareholders for the second quarter of 2021 was RMB4.6 billion (US$0.7 billion), compared to RMB5.9 billion for the same period last year.
• Diluted net income per ADS for the second quarter of 2021 was RMB0.50 (US$0.08), compared to RMB10.47 for the second quarter of 2020.Non-GAAP diluted net income per ADS for the second quarter of 2021 was RMB2.90 (US$0.45), compared to RMB3.51 for the same period last year.
• Operating cash flow for the twelve months ended June 30, 2021 increased to RMB38.9 billion (US$6.0 billion) from RMB26.3 billion for the twelve months ended June 30, 2020. Free cash flow, which excludes the impact from JD Baitiao receivables included in the operating cash flow, for the twelve months ended June 30, 2021 increased to RMB31.9 billion (US$4.9 billion), compared to RMB22.7 billion for the twelve months ended June 30, 2020.
• Annual active customer accounts4 increased by 27.4% to 531.9 million in the twelve months ended June 30, 2021 from 417.4 million in the twelve months ended June 30, 2020.

JD.com shares fell 1.8% in premarket trading.

Business Highlights

Environment, Social and Governance

• In response to the severe flooding in the central China province of Henan, JD.com donated over 20 truckloads of rescue supplies and daily necessities dispatched from JD.com’s closest warehouse. Furthermore, JD Health opened a free 24-hour hotline for medical consultation and donated healthcare supplies for disinfection and epidemic prevention. The emergency efforts reflect the company’s longstanding policy of immediately donating goods to disaster areas from the nearest JD.com’s warehouse. JD Retail also assisted merchants in the affected regions through fee relief and additional insurance to accelerate the disaster recovery effort.
• On June 18, JD.com published its Sustainability Report discussing the company’s achievements from 2018 to 2020 in creating a low-carbon enterprise through environmentally friendly logistics, procurement and facilities. Since 2017, JD.com has been gradually replacing traditional fuel-combustion trucks with new energy vehicles reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 120,000 tons each year.
• In June, JD Logistics and P&G Beauty completed an environmentally friendly soccer field made from recycled plastic bottles at the Nanjing Foreign Language School, representing a milestone for JD.com’s Green Stream Initiative on its 4th anniversary. Last year, P&G Beauty joined JD Logistics’s bottle recycling program as a strategic partner to recycle plastic P&G brand products in Shanghai and Guangzhou. As of June 2021, over 20,000 families have participated in the program.

JD Retail

• JD.com’s 618 Grand Promotion reported outstanding results. During the 18-day sale from June 1 to 18, over 236 brands achieved sales of over RMB100 million. Order requests from 92% of districts and counties and 84% of small towns were fulfilled on the same or next day. Omni-channel also played an integral part in the 618 Grand Promotion with over one thousand digital and computer stores supporting on-demand consumption and one-hour delivery service.
• LVMH group expanded its innovative partnerships with JD.com in the second quarter. Leveraging the JD.com mini-app, LVMH’s BVLGARI brand provided customers with a new shopping experience featuring a full suite of products including selected jewelry and watches. This represents the first time BVLGARI has collaborated with a third-party online retailer in its history of 137 years. Berluti, the top luxury menswear fashion house under the LVMH group, also established its first official global flagship store on JD.com during the period.
• Several internationally renowned beauty brands recently launched official flagship stores on JD.com including LVMH Group’s Guerlain in early August, as well as LVMH Group’s Givenchy Beauty and Benefit, Estee Lauder Companies’ Estee Lauder, Clinique and Origins, and L’Oreal's Kiehl's in July. The addition of these brands further enriches JD Beauty's high-quality product suite and ensures a best-of-class shopping experience for customers with services provided by JD Logistics.

JD Health

• As an important platform for healthcare brands to expand online sales channels and accelerate digitalization, in the second quarter, JD Health closely cooperated with leading global pharmaceutical companies. JD Health deepened its cooperation with UCB China and became its strategic partner for the distribution of UCB China’s anti-allergic drug Zyrtec (cetirizine hydrochloride tablet and drops). JD Health facilitated the expansion and maintenance of multiple sales channels for Zyrtec including online, offline small and medium sized chain pharmacies as well as individual pharmacies. JD Health also officially launched the AstraZeneca direct sales flagship store, Sanofi direct sales flagship store and other brand stores in order to provide more convenient and professional online and offline integrated healthcare services to patients with chronic diseases.
• In order to address the need for supply chains for certain special drugs, in the second quarter, JD Health partnered with JD Logistics to establish “cold chain” capabilities covering over 100 cities in 12 provincial-level administrative regions across China. With such capabilities, JD Pharmacy is able to expand its business into special drugs for rare diseases. A number of cold chain products from Eli Lilly and Company, Novartis, Sanofi and other brands became available through JD Pharmacy.

JD Logistics

• On May 28, JD Logistics successfully listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code “2618”. Net proceeds from this offering, including the over-allotment options, amounted to approximately RMB23.0 billion. After listing in Hong Kong, JD Logistics will continue to focus on developing its integrated supply chain, including upgrading and expanding its six logistics networks, developing advanced technologies to be used in its supply chain solutions and logistics services, expanding the breadth and depth of integrated solutions, improving supply chain efficiency and user experience for customers, and reducing operating costs.
• JD Logistics further strengthened its cross regional highway, railway and air cargo network to enhance its next-morning and next-day delivery service. As of June 30, 2021, JD Logistics had over 1,000 air cargo routes and the ability to utilize over 300 railway routes. During the 618 Grand Promotion, customers enjoyed delivery service within minutes of order placement in over 200 cities in China.
• In June, JD Logistics and Xiaomi Youpin jointly launched a warehousing and distribution center in Tianjin, upgrading the supply chain cooperation between the two parties. The warehousing center will provide one-stop logistics services including collection, sorting, warehousing, packaging, and distribution, covering all categories of products for its customers.
• As of June 30, 2021, JD Logistics operated approximately 1,200 warehouses, which covered an aggregate gross floor area of approximately 23 million square meters, including warehouse space of cloud warehouses managed under the JD Logistics Open Warehouse Platform.

Other Highlights

• On June 18, AiHuiShou, a secondhand electronics transactions and services platform, was officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock ticker “RERE”. JD.com’s ownership ratio was approximately 33.4% after listing. According to the partnership agreement signed between JD.com and AiHuiShou, the two companies will cooperate in the areas of user traffic, marketing, R&D, sales and channel commissions, supply chain and logistics, customer service and after-sales service.

Operational Metrics Update

• As of June 30, 2021, JD.com had over 320,000 employees, excluding part-time and interns.

Second Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Net Revenues. For the second quarter of 2021, JD.com reported net revenues of RMB253.8 billion (US$39.3 billion), representing a 26.2% increase from the same period in 2020. Net product revenues increased by 23.3%, while net service revenues increased by 49.2% for the second quarter of 2021, as compared to the same period of 2020.

Cost of Revenues.Cost of revenues increased by 28.8% to RMB222.1 billion (US$34.4 billion) for the second quarter of 2021 from RMB172.4 billion for the second quarter of 2020.

Fulfillment Expenses.Fulfillment expenses, which primarily include procurement, warehousing, delivery, customer service and payment processing expenses, increased by 22.5% to RMB14.6 billion (US$2.3 billion) for the second quarter of 2021 from RMB12.0 billion for the second quarter of 2020. Fulfillment expenses as a percentage of net revenues was 5.8% for the second quarter of 2021, compared to 5.9% for the same period last year.

Marketing Expenses.Marketing expenses increased by 56.0% to RMB10.6 billion (US$1.6 billion) for the second quarter of 2021 from RMB6.8 billion for the second quarter of 2020.

Research and Development Expenses.Research and development expenses was RMB3.7 billion (US$0.6 billion) for the second quarter of 2021, as compared to RMB3.6 billion for the second quarter of 2020.

General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by 80.0% to RMB2.6 billion (US$0.4 billion) for the second quarter of 2021 from RMB1.4 billion for the second quarter of 2020. The increase was primarily due to the increase in share-based compensation expenses.

Income from Operations and Non-GAAP Income from Operations.Income from operations for the second quarter of 2021 was RMB300.8 million (US$46.6 million), compared to RMB5.0 billion for the same period last year. Non-GAAP income from operations for the second quarter of 2021 was RMB2.5 billion (US$0.4 billion), compared to non-GAAP income from operations of RMB5.6 billion for the second quarter of 2020. Operating margin of JD Retail before unallocated items for the second quarter of 2021 was 2.6%, remained stable compared with the second quarter of 2020.

Non-GAAP EBITDAfor the second quarter of 2021 was RMB3.7 billion (US$0.6 billion), compared to RMB6.9 billion for the second quarter of 2020.

Share of Results of Equity Investees. Share of results of equity investees was an income of RMB522.8 million (US$81.0 million) for the second quarter of 2021, as compared to an income of RMB4.0 billion for the second quarter of 2020. The substantial decrease was primarily due to a one-off dilution gain of RMB4.1 billion recognized upon the IPO of Dada Group during the second quarter of 2020.

Net IncomeAttributable to Ordinary Shareholdersand Non-GAAP Net IncomeAttributable to Ordinary Shareholders.Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders for the second quarter of 2021 was RMB794.3 million (US$123.0 million), compared to RMB16.4 billion for the same period last year. Non-GAAP net income attributable to ordinary shareholders for the second quarter of 2021 was RMB4.6 billion (US$0.7 billion), compared to RMB5.9 billion for the same period last year.

Diluted EPS and Non-GAAP Diluted EPS.Diluted net income per ADS for the second quarter of 2021 was RMB0.50 (US$0.08), compared to RMB10.47 for the second quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP diluted net income per ADS for the second quarter of 2021 was RMB2.90 (US$0.45), compared to RMB3.51 for the second quarter of 2020.