BEIJING (Reuters) -China's Tencent Holdings reported an 8% rise in second-quarter revenue on Wednesday, driven by a recovery in its gaming business after a launch of a new mobile game in May that got off to a strong start.
The world's largest video game company and operator of the WeChat messaging platform said revenue reached 161.12 billion yuan ($22.5 billion) in the quarter ended June 30. Analysts had expected revenue of 160.77 billion yuan, according to LSEG data.
Tencent's core gaming business had faced headwinds, with China revenue declining for two consecutive quarters since the fourth quarter of last year, partly hit by successful rollouts of rival games from competitors.
It is now showing signs of recovery, helped by the release of long-awaited "Dungeon & Fighter Mobile" title which dominated top-grossing charts on Apple's iOS platform in China for nearly a month since its release in May, according to industry data.
For the April-June quarter, Tencent's domestic gaming revenue rose 9% to 34.6 billion yuan, while international gaming revenue also increased 9% to 13.9 billion yuan.
The company said it spent HK$52.3 billion ($6.71 billion) on share repurchases in the first half of 2024, before expenses.
Earlier this year, Tencent pledged to more than double its 2024 buybacks to over HK$100 billion from HK$49 billion in 2023.
Chinese tech firms have increased share buybacks to boost investor confidence as the sector recovers from a regulatory crackdown. The trend comes amid concerns over China's slowing economic growth.
($1 = 7.1484 Chinese yuan renminbi)
($1 = 7.7897 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting by Liam Mo and Casey Hall; Editing by Jason Neely and Shounak Dasgupta)