Tencent saw its revenue growth for the third quarter slow to 13 percent on an annual basis, to total sales of CNY 142.4 billion, as the company dealt with increased regulation on the Chinese internet market. Adjusted EBITDA rose just 3 percent to CNY 49.3 billion, and the net profit advanced 3 percent to CNY 39.5 billion.
CEO Ma Huateng said the company complied with new internet and games regulations during the quarter and will now split its gaming results into domestic and international categories. Domestic games revenue in China grew by 5 percent to CNY 33.6 billion, boosted by Honour of Kings, Call of Duty Mobile and Moonlight Blade Mobile, while the international games business grew a faster 20 percent to CNY 11.6 billion, lifted by Valorant and Clash of Clans.
The CEO added that the company also invested in key strategic areas and new technologies during the quarter. Capex for the quarter reached CNY 7.1 billion, down 19 percent from the year before, with the cash flow off 14 percent to CNY 24.1 billion. The company ended September with net debt at CNY 26.1 billion.
Social networks revenue went up 7 percent to CNY 30.3 billion, driven by the relatively rapid growth from video and music subscription services, as well as moderate growth from live streaming and in-game item sales. Revenues from online advertising strengthened 5 percent CNY 22.5 billion while fintech and business services jumped 30 percent to CNY 43.3 billion.
The number of monthly average users for Weixin and WeChat went higher to 1.262 billion from 1.251 billion at end-June and 1.212 billion the year before. Users for QQ declined meanwhile to 573.7 million from 590.9 million and 617.4 million respectively.
