March 14 (Reuters) – Tencent Holdings Ltd,
China’s biggest Internet company by revenue, reported a 15.3
percent rise in quarterly profit, in line with analyst
estimates, as growth in a budding blockbuster game helped lift
tepid performances by its more mature titles.
Tencent, which has spent the last year diversifying into
travel and social networking, faces stiff competition from
online game operators such as Shanda Games Ltd and
Netease.com Inc, as it also seeks to maintain its high
growth in online games.
Tencent posted a fourth-quarter net profit of 2.54 billion
yuan, in line with analyst forecasts of 2.58 billion yuan.
Tencent’s legacy games such as Crossfire and Dungeon
Fighter posted slower gains in the quarter, while its new
blockbuster title League of Legends soared.
Shares in Tencent, which is more than 30 percent owned by
Naspers Ltd, South Africa’s biggest media group, ended
0.1 percent higher on Wednesday before its earnings announcement
versus the Hang Seng Index’s 0.2 percent loss.
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