What’s new: Cash-strapped electronics retailer Suning.com Co. Ltd. (002024.SZ) finished this year’s third quarter 4.12 billion yuan ($632 million) in the red, its second-largest quarterly loss since it first went public 17 years ago as sales continued to slump.
The embattled retailing giant’s dismal bottom line was a reversal from a reported net profit of 713 million in last year’s third-quarter, and it approached the company’s record 4.8 billion yuan loss for the fourth quarter of 2020, according to a Sunday exchange filing (link in Chinese).
Suning.com’s revenue slumped 64.82% year-on-year in the third quarter to nearly 22 billion yuan, the lowest quarterly figure since 2012, due to “record-low” inventories and “dramatically” lower sales, its filing said.
“The third quarter was the most difficult time Suning has had in 30 years, as the company encountered unprecedented challenges,” the company said in the filing.
Background: Nanjing-based Suning.com has been the largest private enterprise by revenue in East China’s Jiangsu province since 2013. However, after years of aggressive expansion, including investments in Italian soccer club Inter Milan and supermarket chain Carrefour China, coupled with losses from its core business, the retailer now finds itself struggling to pay its bills. As of the end of September, the firm had 141 billion yuan in total liabilities.
In July, the company secured a $1.4 billion lifeline from a consortium backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and several government funds.
Read more In Depth: How Suning Fell Into Crisis as JD.com Surged
Contact reporter Manyun Zou (manyunzou@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter.
