Tencent Q1 profits soar

Chinese internet group Tencent’s quarterly profit has surged more than 60% as the country’s most valuable listed company focuses more on higher-margin businesses including advertising and ecommerce, reports the Financial Times. Tencent’s net income rose 62% year on year to RMB 42 billion ($5.8 billion) in the first three months of 2024, beating analyst estimates and driven largely by a more profitable advertising business. Revenues were RMB 159.5 billion, up 6% compared with the first quarter of 2023.

Tencent’s share price has risen more than 30% since the start of the year, as investors show signs of selectively returning to Chinese tech equities after several years of battered valuations following a regulatory crackdown and rising US-China tensions.

“Tencent posted really strong earnings after shifting towards higher margin revenue businesses like advertising, mini-game platform fees and ecommerce monetisation,” said Robin Zhu, analyst at Bernstein.