Tencent reports Q1 profit slump
STORY: Tencent’s performance last quarter was its worst since going public in 2004.
The Chinese tech giant posted a quarterly profit slump and zero revenue growth.
It earned $20 billion in revenue during the quarter ended March - below analyst expectations.
Tencent, which runs the WeChat messaging platform, said profit for the quarter fell just over a half - the biggest drop since going public.
Its market value has more than halved from a peak of $930 billion in February last year.
It now stands at $451 billion - but is still China’s most valuable company.
The fall in revenue growth comes after two quarters of softening sales.
Tencent has also seen its expansion chances hurt by a regulatory crackdown by Beijing on the country’s largest internet firms.
The tech giant - the world's largest video game developer - has been hit as user spending on gaming normalises after a surge over the past two years.
Advertising sales also fell sharply, with more competition posed by rivals like TikTok-owner ByteDance.