(Yicai) Aug. 20 -- Shares of J&T Express tumbled despite the Indonesian courier reporting it swung into the black for the first time in the first half of this year, mainly thanks to a growth in parcel deliveries, while revenue in China, its biggest market, surged 36 percent.

J&T [HKG: 1519] fell 5.3 percent to HKD6.85 (88 US cents) a share as of 1.45 p.m. in Hong Kong today, after earlier plunging by as much as 10.4 percent.

Net profit was USD31 million in the six months ended June 30, compared with a net loss of USD670 million a year earlier, the Jakarta-based company said in an earnings report released yesterday. Revenue rose 21 percent to USD4.9 billion, with that from the Chinese market reaching around USD3 billion.

J&T's deliveries soared 38.3 percent to 11.01 billion parcels, with those in China jumping 37 percent, where its market share climbed 1.1 percentage point to 11 percent.

J&T increased its parcel volume in China mainly through seizing opportunities presented by the growth of e-commerce and attracting more customers via high cost-effectiveness, it noted. It also continued to expand its business development in the country's lower-tier markets by allying with several e-commerce platforms to handle consolidated shipments to remote areas, it added.

For the first six months of this year, J&T's revenue per delivery in China remained relatively stable at 34 US cents, while the related cost fell around 6 percent to 32 US cents, according to the company.

J&T's first self-built transit center in China will become operational in Huaiyang in the second half of this year, Vice President Hou Junyi said at an earnings conference call. "Compared with its peers, J&T still has room to reduce costs per parcel," he noted, adding that its Guangzhou transit center is expected to go live next year, likely further optimizing expenses.

J&T continued to dominate the Southeast Asian market for the fourth straight year. Its parcel deliveries surged 42 percent in the first half from a year ago, while its market share rose 2 points to 27.4 percent from the end of last year.

Regarding new markets, including Saudi Arabia and Mexico, J&T's deliveries soared 64 percent to 140 million parcels, and its market share rose 0.1 point to 6.1 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev