(Yicai Global) Aug. 15 -- Adjusted second-quarter profits at China's largest online retailer, JD.Com Inc. [NASDAQ: JD], were almost as high as its whole-year figure for 2016, its financial report for the period shows.

Net income from continuing operations in the second quarter totaled CNY93.2 billion (USD13.7 billion), up 43.6 percent from a year earlier. The net profit of such operations under non-GAAP accounting was CNY976.5 million, close to its total adjusted profit of CNY1 billion last year.

The firm's shares fell as much as 5.88 percent after the market opened and closed at USD44.26 a share, down 3.58 percent.

JD.Com has now registered profits for five straight quarters.

"In the second quarter, both the average ticket size and average purchase price increased stably," Huang Xuande, chief financial officer, said during a phone call after releasing the report yesterday. "JD.Com has a growing number of users and they purchase more and more goods."

"As JD enriched its product categories and attracted a large number of leading international brands, customer numbers have grown rapidly," said chief executive Liu Qiangdong. "Female customers are on the rise and becoming more active. Looking forward, our Big Data and smart technology will help enhance customer experience and benefit our partners, as well as spearhead the industry's change to 'retail as a service' and open up the platform."

In the 12 months leading to July 30, 2017, JD.Com had 258.3 million customers, 37 percent more than the same period a year earlier.

The firm was listed on the Fortune Global 500 for the second time last month, climbing 105 places to 261st and beating out all other Chinese companies.