By Deborah Mary Sophia and Casey Hall
(Reuters) -China's PDD Holdings beat forecasts on Tuesday with a 14% rise in third-quarter adjusted earnings in a sign the e-commerce group's steep discounts and heavy
marketing spending bolstered demand in its home market.
Adjusted earnings per share of 21.08 yuan topped analysts' average forecast of 16.84 yuan. However, U.S.-listed shares of the company, which runs the Pinduoduo platform in China and Temu internationally, were down 3% in choppy premarket trading.
Chinese retail majors such as PDD, Alibaba and JD.com have been wooing domestic shoppers with price cuts and promotions during a prolonged period of subdued consumer confidence amid job worries and a weak property market.
Those discounts have translated into higher sales, although below PDD's typically high double-digit rates of previous years.
REVENUE GROWTH MODERATES
PDD said revenues rose 9% in the quarter, while JD.com reported steady sales growth last week, pointing to strong demand for general merchandise and staples.
"Revenues growth continued to moderate, reflecting the ongoing evolution of the competitive landscape and external uncertainties," said Jun Liu, vice president of finance at PDD.
The company reiterated that its financial results would continue to fluctuate in the coming quarters as it invests in merchant support programmes and platform upgrades.
PDD reported revenue of 108.28 billion yuan ($15.23 billion) for the quarter ended September 30, compared with the 108.41 billion yuan average of 15 analyst estimates compiled by LSEG.
Adjusted net income attributable to PDD's shareholders came in at 31.38 billion yuan, compared with 27.46 billion yuan a year earlier.
The Singles' Day sales festival, one of the biggest shopping events in China, also ended on a subdued note. Many retailers kicked off discounts in the first half of October, making it the longest festival to date.
Pinduoduo saw sales growth of 11.7% in the period, while JD.com's and Alibaba's platforms saw increases of 8.3% and 9.3%, respectively, according to data from Beijing-based tech and commerce consulting firm Analysys.
Sales totalled 1.70 trillion yuan across Chinese e-commerce platforms, figures from data provider Syntun showed. That compared with last year's 1.44 trillion yuan, though promotional periods were shorter on some platforms in 2024.
($1 = 7.1111 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru and Casey Hall in Shanghai. Editing by Kevin Buckland, Maju Samuel and Mark Potter)
