Vipshop Holdings Q3 Profit Surges - Update

(RTTNews) - Chinese online discount retailer Vipshop Holdings Ltd (VIPS), Tuesday reported a surge in profit for the third quarter, as revenues more-than-doubled as customers and orders increased. Both earnings and revenues for the quarter came in ahead of analysts' estimates. Nevertheless, shares of the company fell five percent in after-hours trade on the Nasdaq.

Guangzhou, China-based Vipshop's third-quarter profit rose to $27.7 million or $0.05 per American depositary share or ADS, up from $12.0 million or $0.02 per ADS last year.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter rose to $0.08 per ADS from $0.03 per ADS a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.07 per ADS for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Vipshop's revenues for the quarter surged 130 percent to $882.6 million from $383.7 million last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $863.12 million for the quarter.

CEO Eric Shen said, "We achieved strong growth in total active customers and total orders, which enabled us to further boost both the total net revenues and the net income attributable to our shareholders. Additionally, we continue to have strong adoption in mobile shopping with approximately 57% of our gross merchandise volume coming from mobile devices in the third quarter."

Number of active customers increased 136.8 percent to 9.5 million, while total orders rose to 117.6 percent to 25.5 million.

Gross margins for the quarter improved to 24.9 percent from 24.2 percent last year.

Looking forward to the fourth quarter, the company expects revenues of $1.20 billion to $1.22 billion. Analysts currently expect $1.21 billion for the quarter.

VIPS closed Tuesday's trading at $23.71, down $0.28 or 1.17%. The stock further slipped $1.16 or 4.89% in the after-hours trade.