(Yicai) March 21 -- Shares of PDD Holdings rose after the Chinese owner of discount shopping sites Temu and Pinduoduo reported an 87 percent profit surge for last year thanks to significant growth in revenue from online marketing and transaction services.

PDD [NASDAQ: PDD] closed 4 percent higher at USD130.92 a share in New York yesterday. The stock has climbed 35 percent so far this year.

Net profit was CNY112.4 billion yuan (USD15.4 billion) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, the Shanghai-based e-commerce giant said in a financial report yesterday. Its revenue soared 59 percent to CNY393.8 billion.

Revenue from online marketing services jumped 29 percent to CNY197.9 billion, while that from transaction services surged 108 percent to CNY195.9 million, PDD noted.

"In 2024, we remained committed to driving sustainable growth for both our platform ecosystem and the broader supply chain," said Chen Lei, chairman and co-chief executive officer. "Through targeted innovations in platform operations and industry support policies, we continue to drive our high-quality development strategy to benefit the broader e-commerce ecosystem," he added.

PDD invested CNY12.7 billion in research and development last year, up 16 percent from the year before, it said, adding that the funds were mainly used for tech upgrades for merchant operations, platform governance, and after-sales services.

"We leveraged our digital capabilities to give back to consumers and support quality merchants, building an inclusive ecosystem that creates value for all participants," noted co-CEO Zhao Jiazhen.

For the fourth quarter of last year, net profit rose 18 percent to CNY27.4 billion (USD3.8 billion) from a year earlier. However, the income growth of online marketing and transaction services weakened, with the former slowing to 17 percent from 24 percent year-on-year in the third quarter and the latter to 33 percent from 72 percent.

Regarding potential challenges, Zhao mentioned the risk of homogeneous competition in some supply chains. "Prolonged homogeneous supply can compress merchant profits and suppress innovation," he said, adding that the company plans to introduce new supply support policies, offering substantial fee cuts to optimize merchant operations.

"The external environment is changing rapidly," said Chen regarding global expansion and challenges for PDD's overseas platform Temu. "Global business faces intense competition, and macro policies related to Temu may evolve," he noted, adding that the firm remains focused on compliance and proactive communication with stakeholders in various markets.

Editor: Martin Kadiev