Chinese Videogame Giant NetEase Posts Better-Than-Expected Results
Videogame giant NetEase NTES 0.67%increase; green up pointing triangle delivered solid first-quarter results as its core online business continued to recover, in another sign that China's gaming industry has bounced back.
The Chinese company behind the hit games 'Eggy Party' and 'Marvel Rivals' said Thursday that its net profit rose 35% to 10.30 billion yuan, equivalent to $1.43 billion, in the first three months of the year. That beat the 8.28 billion yuan expected in a FactSet poll of analysts and marked a second consecutive quarter of profit gains as NetEase's gaming segment goes from strength to strength.
Adjusted net profit, a closely watched metric that excludes share-based compensation expenses, increased 32% from a year earlier to 11.24 billion yuan.
Revenue at the Hangzhou-based company, the sole distributor of Blizzard blockbusters like 'World of Warcraft' in China, climbed 7.4% to 28.83 billion yuan, topping the 28.11 billion yuan estimate in the FactSet poll.
Sales from games and value-added services increased 12% as PC games supported overall gaming revenue, fueled by the resumed distribution of popular Blizzard titles and the success of self-developed ones such as 'Marvel Rivals' and 'Where Winds Meet.'
Write to Sherry Qin at sherry.qin@wsj.com
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