The third quarter earnings at Tencent Holdings Ltd, a Chinese
instant message service provider, jumped 51 percent on robust
advertising growth and strong online game sales from newly launched
titles, which offset a slower rise in wireless services.
Net income totaled 426 million yuan (US$56.8 million), or 0.232
yuan per fully diluted share. Revenue increased 43.5 percent to
more than one billion yuan, it said yesterday in a statement to the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange after the market closed. Its shares gained
HK$3.65, or seven percent, to close at HK$55.65 (US$7).
Tencent, operator of China's largest instant messenger program
"QQ," has been diversifying its revenue stream and improving its
brand image to attract more advertisers to its portal QQ.com which
has a loyal QQ user base that accounts for about two-thirds of the
nation's 170 million Web population.
The company, based in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, launched two
online role-playing game titles, QQ SanGuo and QQ Huaxia, late in
the second quarter, which helped boost game sales 41 percent year
on year to 231 million yuan in the third quarter - the time for
school summer holidays.
Its online ad sales also increased sharply by 80 percent from
the same period last year to 145 million yuan as online game and
educational firms placed more advertising during the summer
season.
Meanwhile, revenue from wireless services grew 17 percent to
193.5 million yuan.
Ma Huateng, chairman and chief executive officer of Tencent,
said it will "continue to invest in strengthening integrated
Internet platforms to better serve users."
(Shanghai Daily November 15, 2007)
