Tencent posts better-than-expected US$3.9 billion first-quarter profit as fintech services grow
- Revenue rose 16 per cent to 85.5 billion yuan, missing analysts’ estimates
- Profit received a boost from an 11 billion yuan gain from its investee companies
Tencent Holdings, operator of China’s biggest video games and social media businesses, beat estimates to record a 17 per cent year-on-year increase in first-quarter net profit, helped by investment gains.
Hong Kong-listed Tencent posted a net profit of 27.2 billion yuan (US$3.9 billion) in the quarter ended March 31, up from 23.3 billion yuan in the same period last year and ahead of the 19.4 billion yuan consensus from analysts compiled by Bloomberg.
Revenue grew 16 per cent to 85.5 billion yuan, compared with 73.5 billion yuan a year ago, but fell short of the 88.7 billion yuan consensus analysts’ estimate.
“We sustained healthy user engagement across our key platforms, with notable growth in the number of short videos uploaded and shared by users on QQ and Weixin (WeChat),” said Tencent chairman and chief executive Pony Ma Huateng in a statement released after the close of trading on Wednesday.
“Our payment, other fintech services and cloud business, while still at an early stage of expansion, are now generating substantial revenues … We believe that we are building solid foundations for future growth in both the consumer and industrial internet domains.”