(Yicai Global) Nov. 16 -- Missfresh’s shares climbed despite the troubled online grocery startup more than doubling its net loss last year, as revenue increased and US-listed Chinese stocks made gains for a fourth day.

Missfresh [NASDAQ: MF] closed up 2.3 percent at USD1.78 in New York yesterday, giving the Beijing-based company a market capitalization of nearly USD14 million.

The company’s net loss was CNY3.8 billion (USD604.1 million) in the year ended Dec. 31, 2021, versus CNY1.6 billion the previous year, according to the earnings report it released on Nov. 14. Revenue climbed 13.4 percent to CNY7 billion.

Revenue got a boost from a 13.1 percent rise in product sales to CNY6.8 billion, primarily due to an increase in the number of orders fulfilled and a gain in revenue generated from the supply chain business, Missfresh noted.

The firm’s total costs and operating expenses soared 39.1 percent to CNY10.8 billion (USD1.7 billion). Fulfillment expenses jumped 34.5 percent to CNY6.1 billion, mainly because of an increase in the number of orders met, product delivery headcount, warehouse operations, quality control, and customer service staff to further enhance Missfresh’s fulfillment capabilities.

Coal miner Shanxi Donghui Group made a deal in July to invest CNY200 million (USD28.3 million) in Missfresh for about a 30 percent stake. But Donghui has not yet completed the transaction as it did not secure the funding as expected.

As a result, Missfresh made significant adjustments to its business strategy, including closing its main on-demand grocery business, which contributed about 90 percent of the total net income for 2021, and laying off staff. The company has just 55 full-time employees, versus 1,925 at the end of last year.

Missfresh went public in New York at the end of June 2021, with the shares falling on their debut. Since July, it has stumbled into multiple crises, and online rumors have claimed that the firm has said internally that it will be dissolved.

Editor: Futura Costaglione