The logo of China’s Tencent Music Entertainment Group is seen next to an earphone in this illustration picture taken March 22, 2021. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration
Aug 16 – China’s Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME.N) beat expectations for quarterly revenue Monday as its advertising business rebounded and more people subscribed to its music streaming platform.
Tencent Music, China’s answer to Spotify (SPOT.N), has tried to attract more paying users in recent months by focusing on long-form audio and expanding its library through licensing deals with Universal Music Group and Sony Music.
Total revenue of the Tencent Holdings Ltd-controlled (0700.HK) company rose by 15.5% to 8.01 billion yuan ($1.24 billion) in the second quarter. Analysts were expecting a figure of 8.13 billion yuan, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
The results come amid an intensifying regulatory crackdown on China’s internet giants.
Tencent Music reiterated in a statement that it accepted a decision by the regulator in July on exclusive music licensing arrangements, which is expected to have some impact on its operations.
Profit attributable to equity holders of the company fell to 827 million yuan, from 939 million yuan a year earlier.
($1 = 6.4742 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni
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