By Michael Dabaie
Pinduoduo Inc. American depositary receipts were down 9% to $38.81 in afternoon trading Monday after quarterly revenue came in below analyst expectations.
The Chinese agriculture and interactive commerce platform reported fourth-quarter total revenue of 27.23 billion yuan, or $4.27 billion, up 3% on year but below the FactSet consensus forecast of $4.68 billion. Adjusted earnings per ADS came to CNY5.88, or 92 U.S. cents, above the FactSet consensus for 37 cents.
“Our revenue growth slowed down due to moderating user growth and fluctuation in user activity,” said Jun Liu, Pinduoduo vice president of finance. “At the same time, we recorded a profit in the fourth quarter, which is attributable to more controlled spending as we adjust to slower growth, and a one-off rebate from one of our service providers.”
In 2021, “we made the strategic shift from sales and marketing toward research and development,” said Lei Chen, chairman and chief executive officer of Pinduoduo. “We see ourselves making more long-term investment, especially in agriculture and R&D.”
The company said during a conference call it expects flat profits while it continues to invest in agriculture space, including agricultural technology. The company also noted in the call that it is facing more competition and doesn’t expect the profitability in the fourth quarter to serve as a benchmark for the following quarters.
Write to Michael Dabaie at [email protected]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 21, 2022 14:02 ET (18:02 GMT)
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