China’s Tencent Music beats revenue estimates with higher subscriptions According to Reuters

(Reuters) – of China Tencent Music Entertainment Corporation (NYSE:) beat quarterly revenue estimates on Monday as a flurry of original content and pandemic lockdowns helped its Spotify-like music streaming platform attract more paying users. .

Shares of the company in the US rose 3% in extended trading after it said users of paying for music online rose a quarter to 82.7 million amid a lack of social events due to Strict home orders in China. Music subscription revenue grew 18%.

The company also benefits from promoting original content, including partnering with Tencent Holdings (OTC:) to produce songs from popular game titles.

However, there are signs that stiff competition and an economic slowdown due to Beijing’s no-COVID policy are weighing on Tencent Music’s business.

Revenue fell 20% in the social entertainment business, the company’s biggest revenue driver and home to karaoke app WeSing and live concert platform Kuwo Music.

Tencent Music said it plans to drive growth in the unit by adding features like live audio streaming.

The company has come under the control of regulators and last year was forced to terminate exclusive contracts with major music labels, eroding their advantage over rivals such as Cloud Music and the platform. Douyin short video sharing is owned by Bytedance.

According to Refinitiv IBES data, total revenue was 6.91 billion yuan ($1.02 billion) in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with the 6.62 billion yuan that manufacturers expected analysis.

Excluding items, the company earned 0.63 yuan per American depository share (ADS), higher than the estimate of 0.56 yuan per ADS.

(1 dollar = 6.7715 yuan)