Chinese e-commerce giant JD said its net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2018 reached 134.8 billion yuan ($19.6 billion), an increase of 22.4 percent from the fourth quarter of previous year.

Its annual active customer accounts rose to 305.3 million in the 12 months ended December 31, 2018, from 292.5 million in the 12 months ended December 31, 2017.

Cost of revenues increased by 20.7 percent to 115.7 billion yuan in the fourth quarter of 2018 from 95.8 billion yuan in the fourth quarter of 2017. This rise was primarily due to the growth of the company’s online direct sales business, and costs related to the logistics services provided to merchants and other partners, according to the company.

“In the fourth quarter of last year, JD continued to outperform the industry across our key product categories,” said Liu Qiangdong, Chairman and CEO of JD.

“Our investments in technology enhanced the customer experience and enabled greater operating efficiency. As JD pushes the boundaries of retail, we are committed to optimizing our resources across our business in order to deliver long term value to our shareholders,” Liu said.

During the fourth quarter, JD expanded its leadership position in fulfillment capabilities among China’s e-commerce companies. As of December 31, 2018, JD.com operated over 550 warehouses covering an aggregate gross floor area of about 12 million square meters in China.

It had over 210,000 merchants on its online marketplace, and over 178,000 full-time employees as of December 31, 2018.

“Overall, we saw healthy top line and bottom line performance in the fourth quarter, reflecting our balanced approach towards financial discipline and investing for the future,” said Sidney Huang, Chief Financial Officer of JD.com.

“In particular, our core JD Mall business has continued to grow with improving margin. We focused on developing industry leading technology innovation and infrastructure to drive greater efficiency and economies of scale in the future.”