06:33 AM EST, 11/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- JD.com ( JD ) reported better-than-expected third-quarter results on Thursday buoyed by revenue gains in its retail and logistics operations amid improving consumer sentiment.

The Chinese e-commerce giant posted adjusted earnings of 8.68 renminbi ($1.24) per American depositary share, up from 6.70 renminbi a year earlier and ahead of the Capital IQ-polled consensus of 7.49 renminbi. Revenue for the September quarter advanced 5.1% year over year to 260.39 billion renminbi, just above the Street's view for 260.35 billion renminbi.

"We saw an uptick in our topline growth, as well as healthy profitability in the third quarter, as overall consumer sentiment continued to brighten," Chief Executive Sandy Xu said in a statement. "Our general merchandise category also grew robustly in the quarter."

Revenue in the retail segment climbed to 224.99 billion renminbi from 212.06 billion renminbi last year. The logistics division saw revenue rise to nearly 44.4 billion renminbi from 41.66 billion renminbi. Revenue from new businesses dropped 26% to 4.97 billion renminbi.

Electronics and home appliances revenue improved 2.7% to 122.56 billion renminbi, while general merchandise sales grew 8% to 82.05 billion renminbi. Service revenue increased to 55.77 billion renminbi from 52.39 billion renminbi in the 2023 quarter.

"As we continued to build up supply chain capabilities to drive better scale benefits and operating efficiency, both our gross margin and non-GAAP net margin achieved healthy improvement year-on-year in the quarter," Chief Financial Officer Ian Su Shan said. Adjusted operating margin came in at 5% versus 4.5% in the prior-year period.

General and administrative costs fell to 2.33 billion renminbi from 2.47 billion renminbi. Fulfillment expenses, including procurement, warehousing, delivery, customer service and payment processing costs, increased 6.9% to 16.28 billion renminbi.

"This set of results is attributable to our continuous progress in user growth and engagement, price competitiveness and platform ecosystem," according to Shan. "Going forward, we will continue to create long term value for our users, business partners and shareholders."