Tencent posts better than expected 3% profit jump
FILE PHOTO: A logo of Tencent is seen during the World Internet Conference (WIC) in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, China, November 23, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
SHANGHAI: Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings posted a 3 per cent rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday (Dec 10), beating analyst expectations as it flagged the impact of heightened regulatory scrutiny and a slowdown in advertising.
Net profit for the three months through September rose to 39.5 billion yuan (US$6.18 billion), above an average Refinitiv estimate of 35 billion yuan drawn from 14 analysts.
Revenue climbed 13 per cent to 142.4 billion yuan, slightly below expectations.
Sales from mobile games rose 9 per cent, the owner of games such as "Honor of Kings" and "PUBG mobile" said in a statement.
The period also saw China's largest company by market value hit by new limits on the amount of time minors can spend playing video games. The government has not approved any new games since August.
Beijing's year-long crackdown on its once-freewheeling internet industry has punished well-known companies for engaging in what were previously considered regular market practices, wiping billions of dollars off their market values.
