(Yicai) Jan. 9 -- Dada Nexus’ shares sank after the Chinese owner of on-demand delivery platforms JD Daojia and Dada Now said that an internal audit identified certain suspicious practices that may cast doubt on certain revenues from its online advertising and marketing services in 2023.

Dada Nexus [NASDAQ: DADA] closed nearly 46 percent down at USD1.70 in New York yesterday. The stock fell over 52 percent last year.

Based on a preliminary assessment, about CNY500 million (USD69.9 million) of revenues from online advertising and marketing services and CNY500 million of operation and support costs for the first three quarters of last year may have been overstated, the Shanghai-based company announced yesterday.

“The revenue guidance previously provided by Dada Nexus for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023 should no longer be relied upon until further notice,” the firm added.

The audit committee is engaging independent professional consultants, including a forensic accounting firm that is not Dada Nexus’ auditor and an international law firm, to further investigate the matter, the company noted.

Dada Nexus’ net loss shrank 63 percent to CNY166 million in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to the firm’s latest earnings report. Revenue rose 20 percent to CNY2.9 billion (USD408.4 million), of which CNY1.8 billion came from JD Daojia and CNY1.1 billion from Dada Now.

In the 12 months ended Sept. 30, the gross merchandise volume of JD Daojia soared 24 percent to CNY73.1 billion (USD10.2 billion) from the same period the previous year.

Dada Nexus has gradually become a part of JD's logistics arm over the past few years. On Feb. 25, 2022, JD.Com announced that it would invest USD546 million to buy about 52 percent of Dada Nexus’ shares.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione