Chinese tech and entertainment giant Tencent has posted slight losses for its games business for the last quarter.
In a presentation to investors, the company reported a 1.4 per cent decline in the revenue from its international games division, which brought in RMB 10.7 billion ($1.57 billion) for the three months ending June 30th.
Tencent says that this is likely due to COVID lockdown restrictions ending. The company points to PUBG Mobile and Brawl Stars showing decreased revenue, while describing the performance of Riot Games' Valorant as "robust". Tencent also calls out V Rising as contributing incremental revenue; the game has shifted over 2.5 million copies to date.
Meanwhile, domestic games clocked in at RMB 31.8 billion ($4.67 billion), a 1.1 per cent decrease annually that Tencent blames on post-lockdown life, as well as fewer big launches and new restrictions coming into place to stop children playing games for as long.
"During the second quarter, we actively exited noncore businesses, tightened our marketing spending, and trimmed operating expenses, enabling us to sequentially increase our non-IFRS earnings, despite difficult revenue conditions," Tencent CEO and chair Ma Huateng said.
"Looking forward, we will focus on enhancing the efficiency of our businesses and launching new revenue initiatives, including in-feed advertisements in our popular Video Accounts, while continuing to drive innovation through R&D. We generate approximately half of our revenues from FinTech and Business Services as well as Online Advertising that directly contribute to, and benefit from, overall economic activity, which should position us for revenue growth as China’s economy expands."
