(Yicai Global) May 20 -- Tencent Holdings reported a better-than-expected 65 percent leap in first-quarter profit from a year earlier, which the internet giant attributed to increased revenue from value-added services and online mobile gaming.

Net profit was CNY47.8 billion (USD7.42 billion) in the three months ended March 31, the Shenzhen-based firm said in a statement released today, versus a market consensus for CNY35.5 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Revenue jumped 25 percent to CNY135.3 billion, beating expectations for CNY134.4 billion. 

“During the first quarter, we delivered solid growth across our businesses while continuing to enhance our products and services,” Chairman and Chief Executive Pony Ma said.

The sturdy earnings results come after Tencent was fined CNY1.5 million (USD233,000) last month by the State Administration for Market Regulationfor not submitting past mergers and acquisitions for proper antitrust review.China has been clamping down on monopolistic behavior by its internet firms since late last year. E-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding was handed a record CNY18.2 billion (USD2.83 billion) penalty in early April.

In Hong Kong trading today, Tencent’s shares [HKG: 0700] inched up 0.3 percent to close at HKD609 (USD78.45) each. The benchmark Hang Seng Index retreated 0.5 percent.

Tencent’s income from value-added services jumped 16 percent to CNY72.4 billion in the March quarter, while games revenue gained 17 percent to CNY43.6 billion, primarily due to a surge in mobile gaming income worldwide, including from Honour of Kings, PUBG Mobile, and Peacekeeper Elite.

“We are stepping up our investment in areas including business services and enterprise software, high-production-value games, and short-form video,” Ma said in the statement.

Social network revenue jumped 15 percent to CNY28.8 billion due to moderate growth from digital content subscriptions as well as from in-game virtual item sales.

Revenue from online advertising surged 23 percent to CNY21.8 billion for the quarter, reflecting higher demand from categories such as e-commerce platforms, education and fast-moving consumer goods.

As of March 31, the number of monthly active users of Tencent’s WeChat messaging app rose 3.3 percent from a year earlier to 1.24 billion, while mobile device MAUs of QQ, an instant messaging app, slumped 12.6 percent to 606.4 million.

Editor: Peter Thomas