CHINESE e-commerce firm JD.com’s revenues grew at their slowest pace on record in the first quarter as China’s tech giants start to tap out their existing user bases, though its 21 percent expansion marginally beat analysts’ forecasts.

China’s leading Internet companies are trying to find fresh areas of growth after saturating the market for their core products and services, which has led to a hit on profitability as they invest in new sectors.

JD.com, which operates as an online marketplace, most notably for consumer electronics, first achieved positive net income in early 2017, about three years after it listed. However, it has struggled to maintain profitability.

Martin Bao, who tracks China’s tech sector at ICBC International, said the company has exhausted its core base of shoppers in first-tier Chinese cities and has to find new customers in rural China.

JD differentiates itself from rivals in China by operating an in-house logistics team and warehousing unit and carrying its own inventory.

In contrast, rival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. outsources its logistics to third-party companies, though it owns stakes in many of them. Unlike JD, it makes money primarily via advertising, rather than commissions on sales.

JD.com is undergoing a period of restructuring, with several high-level staff leaving the firm in recent months. Current and former employees said that JD launched layoffs at all levels at the firm, and that morale was low.

Executives said Friday the staff cuts had been “overinterpreted” and denied that there had been “massive layoffs.”

Meanwhile, a University of Minnesota student recently filed a civil lawsuit against JD.com chief executive officer Richard Liu, alleging he raped her. Liu, through his lawyers, has maintained his innocence.

Liu holds 78 percent voting rights on JD.com’s board, and board directors cannot achieve a quorum without him present at meetings. Liu’s concentration of power, coupled with the high-level staff departures, has left some investors concerned about a possible leadership void at JD.com.

JD.com also said Friday it would renew its strategic partnership with social media giant Tencent for three more years, starting in late May. (SD-Agencies)