BEIJING — Fueled by advertising sales and investment gains, Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s third-quarter profit jumped 30% despite a regulatory chokehold on videogames, the company’s biggest business.
Shenzhen-based Tencent 0700, +3.89% , which also operates China’s dominant WeChat social network, on Wednesday posted net income of 23.3 billion yuan ($3.39 billion) for the three months ended Sept. 30, beating analyst expectations. Revenue rose 24% to 80.6 billion yuan, in line with forecasts.
Profit for the period included 8.8 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) from investments, turbocharged by the initial public offering of Meituan Dianping, the food and delivery company backed by Tencent. That is more than twice what Tencent booked in investment gains in last year’s third quarter.
The company didn’t mention the government’s freeze on videogame approvals in its prepared remarks. In their second-quarter earnings call in August, Tencent executives said the freeze contributed to a rare 2% drop in profit — heightening concerns about the company’s near-term prospects.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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