“Looking forward, we continue to invest in our platforms and technologies including AI, enabling us to create new business value and better serve user needs.”
The Tencent Games booth seen at the annual China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, also known as ChinaJoy, in Shanghai on July 26, 2024. Photo: AFP
Video gaming sales, traditionally Tencent’s strongest revenue driver, grew 9 per cent in both domestic and international markets, reaching 34.6 billion yuan at home and 13.9 billion yuan overseas.
Tencent, which operates the world’s largest video gaming business by revenue, has seen its fortunes in the industry improve since the May release of Dungeon & Fighter (DnF) Mobile, which became an instant hit in China. Tencent has also been seeking new sources of revenue with artificial intelligence (AI) and short videos on its super app WeChat, China’s biggest social network and major mobile payment services platform.
A month after launch, DnF Mobile had raked in US$270 million from Apple’s App Store in China alone, according to Sensor Tower data in June. The strong momentum continued through July, as it remained the top grossing game on the iOS charts, according to a research note by Jefferies last week. Jefferies raised its estimates for DnF Mobile’s game grossing in 2024 to 24 billion yuan from the previous 19 billion yuan.
Tencent said in its earnings release that it expects DnF Mobile to become its “next evergreen major hit”, joining consistent revenue drivers Honour of Kings and Peacekeeper Elite.
In the earnings conference call, Tencent chief strategy officer James Mitchell said the company is “very optimistic about the sustainability” of DnF Mobile.
This confidence, according to Mitchell, stems from the company’s 16 years of experience in operating the game’s personal computer version in China, as well as from the high retention rates that DnF Mobile achieved early in its release, which he said had a similar pattern as those of League of Legends and Honour of Kings.
Tencent’s Dungeon & Fighter Mobile remains a top-grossing game on the Apple iOS charts. Photo: Handout
Revenue from Tencent’s value-added services – which includes video gaming and social networks – came in at 78.8 billion yuan in the quarter, up 6 per cent from a year ago.
Tencent’s revenue from online advertising grew by 19 per cent year on year to 29.9 billion yuan in the June quarter, thanks to growth in WeChat’s video accounts and the company’s video-streaming platform. The number of active WeChat users globally, including those on the mainland, reached 1.37 billion at the end of June.
The company has been repositioning its e-commerce business within WeChat to cover not only live streaming, but also the entire ecosystem within the super app that includes mini programs, official accounts and group activities, according to Tencent president Martin Lau Lau Chi-ping during the earnings conference call.
“Live streaming e-commerce can grow very fast, but there is a natural ceiling,” Lau said. “We want to build an ecosystem in a very patient and systematic way, so that it will be differentiated from just live streaming e-commerce, and become more valuable to the merchants and the users.”
On recent reports about Apple putting pressure on WeChat’s transactions, Mitchell said the company does not monetise mini games on iOS via in-app transactions. He said discussions are now under way between the two firms.
It would be in the interest of game developers and users, more so than of Tencent and Apple, “if that monetisation was made available”, Mitchell said. “But we want to make it available on terms that we think are economically sustainable and fair.”
The number of active WeChat users globally reached 1.37 billion at the end of June. Photo: Shutterstock
However, China’s AI industry is engaged in a cutthroat price war, which has embroiled tech giants including Tencent, Baidu and Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post. A new crop of start-ups such as Zhipu AI have joined in, as well, offering their own discounts.
Revenue from fintech and business services was also up by 4 per cent to 50.4 billion yuan.
Tencent’s Mitchell said the continued growth of fintech and business services would depend in part on consumer spending on the mainland.
“The average value per [commercial] payment transaction declined year on year due to slow consumer spending,” Mitchell said. “But given the continuing growth in number of transactions, we believe that our market share is quite stable, and we expect our commercial payment revenue to improve once consumer spending picks up.”
Tencent Music Entertainment Group operates music-streaming services in mainland China. Photo: Shutterstock
Tencent’s shares in Hong Kong fell 1.3 per cent on Wednesday ahead of the earnings announcement, closing at HK$373.8 (US$48). The Shenzhen-based company has been enjoying a rebound in its share price, which has risen by more than 26 per cent this year.
Separately, Tencent Music Entertainment Group reported a 1.7-per cent year-on-year revenue decrease to 7.16 billion yuan during the quarter, marking its fourth consecutive quarter of decline. Profit, however, rose 29.6 per cent year on year to 1.68 billion yuan. Tencent spun off its music business in 2018 for a public listing, but it maintains a majority stake.
In a filing on Tuesday, Tencent Music attributed falling sales largely to revenue decline in a business segment that includes live streaming, an area that has been facing increased regulatory scrutiny from Beijing and rising competition.
Tencent Music’s New York-listed shares fell 13 per cent on Tuesday after the earnings results. Shares were down 18 per cent in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
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