(Yicai Global) April 21 -- Shares of Deppon Logistics fell despite the Chinese express delivery firm acquired by JD Logistics reporting that its profit increased more than four times last year.

Deppon’s stock price [SHA: 603056] closed 1.4 percent down at CNY16.75 (USD2.43) today.

Net profit was CNY648.8 million (USD94.1 million) in the year ended Dec. 31, versus CNY147.8 million in 2021, the Shanghai-based firm said in its latest earnings report published today. Revenue rose 0.1 percent to CNY31.4 billion (USD4.6 billion).

Last year, Deppon cut its operating costs by around 1 percent, labor costs by 1.9 percent, management expenses by 13.6 percent, and other spending on packaging, materials, and insurance claims by 8 percent, the company noted.

The delivery of bulky items had been Deppon’s main business, but the delivery of small items surged last year to account for over 66 percent of total revenue.

JD Logistics bought a 66.5 percent stake in Deppon in March last year. After the acquisition, Deppon remained independent but joined hands with JD Logistics on storage, supply chain, and technologies, Yicai Global learned. The pair can divert business to each other in the future, analysts told Yicai Global.

Deppon announced last month that it inked a service agreement with JD.Com and JD Logistics. It is expected to provide JD with CNY2.3 billion (USD333.5 million) in services this year. The deal will likely bring extra income growth of around 7.3 percent to Deppon, it added.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione