Tencent Q1 profit rises 65% while online game revenues climb

Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) reported on Thursday a forecast-beating 65% rise in quarterly profit.

Tencent, the world’s largest gaming firm by revenue, booked profit of 47.77 billion yuan ($7.42 billion) for the three months through March, higher than the average analyst estimates published by Refinitiv of 35.45 billion yuan.

Revenue rose 25% to 135.3 billion yuan, versus market expectations of 134.39 billion yuan.

Tencent, which has benefited from a surge in paying users for video games in China and international markets, said revenue from online games grew by 17%.

($1 = 6.4355 Chinese yuan renminbi)