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.