(Yicai Global) March 1 -- Shares in JD.Com closed higher yesterday in the US  after the Chinese e-commerce giant released better-than-expected  financial results for last year.

JD shares [NASDAQ:JD] closed 6.70 percent higher at USD27.71 after the  Beijing-based firm beat estimates with a 27.5 percent rise in net income  to CNY462 million for 2018. Non-generally accepted accounting  principles net income fell nearly one-third to CNY3.5 billion from  CNY5.0 billion the year before.

The company's rapid growth in earnings from logistics and other services  drove the increase in net income. Logistics-related turnover surged 142  percent, far exceeding expectations while net income from services  reached CNY45.9 billion, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the total. 

Set up in 2007 and spun-off as an independent operation in 2017, the  logistics division has continued to cut costs and raise efficiency  through business innovation and technology. JD operated more than 550  large warehouses across China as of the end of last year, covering a  total area of about 12 million square meters. JD Logistics has contracts  with over 210,000 merchants and boasts more than 178,000 employees.

The company's active users grew by close to one-quarter in the fourth  quarter while quarterly profit was CNY8 billion, driven by rising profit  margins on its online shopping platform, JD Logistics Chief Executive  Wang Zhenhui said at a press conference yesterday. 

JD will focus more on third and fourth-tier cities this year, according to  founder Richard Liu, adding that it aims to transform its traditional  management structure to a new one based on big data and digitization  while enhancing overall efficiency. The company will also develop new  business models and its offline business, he added. 

Editor: William Clegg