(Yicai) Aug. 30 -- Shares of PDD Holdings, the Chinese company that owns discount e-commerce platforms Pinduoduo and Temu, surged after it said profit jumped 47 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier as consumer confidence rose.

PDD’s shares [NASDAQ: PDD] closed 15.4 percent higher at USD93.22 each in New York yesterday, after earlier soaring by as much as 19.2 percent.

Net profit was CNY13.1 billion (USD1.8 billion) in the three months ended June 30, the Shanghai-based firm said in a financial report yesterday. Revenue gained 66 percent to CNY52.3 billion, mainly due to growth in income from online market and transaction services, jumping 50 percent and 131 percent to CNY37.9 billion and CNY14.3 billion, respectively.

“Over the recent quarter, we saw a positive shift in consumer sentiment, leading to a rise in demand across various product sectors,” said Co-Chief Executive Jiazhen Zhao.

Profit margin was 25 percent last quarter, compared with 27.7 percent a year ago, PDD noted. Operating expenses climbed 41 percent to CNY20.9 billion, mainly because of higher sales and marketing costs.

Regarding competition in the industry, with e-commerce platforms providing subsidies to offer lower prices, Zhao noted that it is a benign contest based on consumer demand and is conducive to the industry's overall development, which is good for both consumers and platforms.

PDD did not disclose the financial performance of Temu, but according to its Vice President of Finance Liu Jun, the overseas online marketplace has faced many challenges in its development, including differences in culture, social circumstances, and consumer demand. PDD will keep exploring ways to promote the site to bring more value to consumers in different markets, he added.

Temu covers 38 markets worldwide, including countries and regions in Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Oceania. It had 20.6 million average monthly active users in the United States as of the end of March, according to global app market data provider Data.ai, formerly known as App Annie.

PDD also announced that Ivonne Rietjens had been appointed to serve as an independent director of the company, effective yesterday.

Editor: Martin Kadiev