(Reuters) – China’s Tencent Music Entertainment Group posted a 14.3% rise in quarterly revenue on Monday, as the music streaming platform benefited from adding more paying users and a rebound in ad sales.
Trapped at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more people joined streaming platforms such as Tencent and Spotify to drive away boredom.
Most of Tencent Music’s users are in its music streaming unit, but the firm’s biggest revenue drivers are social entertainment services, including karaoke platforms, where users can live stream concerts and shows.
Total revenue of the company, controlled by Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, rose to 8.34 billion yuan ($1.28 billion) in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, topping analysts’ average estimate of 8.33 billion yuan, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Profit attributable to equity holders of the company rose to 1.2 billion yuan ($184.42 million) in the quarter from 1.04 billion yuan ($159.83 million) a year earlier.
($1 = 6.5070 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
