(Yicai Global) May 12 -- JD.Com’s shares jumped after the Chinese e-commerce giant swung to a profit in the first quarter from a loss a year earlier and revenue topped expectations. The company also announced that Xu Lei had resigned as chief executive officer.

JD [HKG: 9618] ended 7.1 percent higher at HKD144.60 (USD18.44) in Hong Kong today. Its New York-traded shares [NASDAQ: JD] closed up 7.2 percent yesterday at USD37.63 apiece.

Net income was CNY6.3 billion (USD906.8 million) in the three months ended March 31, versus a net loss of CNY3 billion in the same period the year before, the Beijing-based firm’s financial report showed yesterday before the US market opened. Operating profit soared 167 percent to CNY6.4 billion.

“In the first quarter, JD's profitability increased significantly, mainly because of our efforts in refining operations, optimizing commodity portfolio, and enriching service scope,” Xu said in the report.

Revenue rose 1.4 percent to almost CNY243 billion (USD35 billion), beating the consensus for CNY239.4 billion, per Refinitiv data. Revenue from commodities fell 4.3 percent to CNY195.6 billion, and that from general merchandise and electronics and household appliances dropped 8.7 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

CEO Change

JD has been adjusting in its retail strategy and personnel structure since last November. The latest change was the promotion of Chief Financial Officer Sandy Xu to replace the outgoing Xu Lei, who will step down as CEO next month for personal reasons and serve as the first chairman of JD's advisory committee.

Xu Lei, 48, joined JD in 2009 after working for Beijing-based personal computer maker Lenovo Group. He held several leadership roles within the sales and marketing divisions of JD Retail, including head of marketing and branding, head of JD Wireless, and head of platform operations.

Sandy Xu, 45, became CFO in June 2020, after joining JD in July 2018 as vice president of finance. A certified public accountant, she previously spent nearly 20 years at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

“The business adjustments will affect the revenue growth rate to a certain extent in the short term,” she said yesterday. “I believe that with some time, all businesses will return to steadier growth.”

First-Quarter Revenue Breakdown

Last year, JD divided its business into four: JD Retail, JD Logistics, Dada Nexus, and New Businesses. JD Retail had first-quarter revenue of CNY212.4 billion, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier.

Revenue at JD Logistics jumped 34 percent to CNY36.7 billion (USD5.3 billion), with income from external customers surging 60 percent to CNY25.5 billion, accounting for 70 percent of the total. JD Logistics' stock price [HKG: 2618] gained 5.5 percent to end at HKD13.16 (USD1.68) today.

Dada, which owns on-demand delivery platforms JD Daojia and Dada Now, saw its first-quarter revenue jump 27 percent to CNY2.7 billion, sending its shares [NASDAQ: DADA] up 14.9 percent to USD6.62 yesterday.

Revenue from New Businesses plunged 40 percent to CNY3.5 billion, mainly because of a high number of business retrenchments.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione