TENCENT ANNOUNCES 2022 FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

TENCENT ANNOUNCES 2022 FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

PR Newswire Asia

Published

HONG KONG, May 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tencent Holdings Limited ("Tencent" or the "Company", 00700.HK), a leading provider of Internet value added services in China, today announced the unaudited consolidated results for the first quarter ("1Q2022") ended March 31, 2022.

*1Q2022 **Key Highlights*

*Revenues: stable YoY, non-IFRS*^[1]* profit attributable to equity holders of the Company: **-**23% YoY*

*Total r**evenues* were RMB135.5 billion (USD21.3 billion^[2]), stable over the first quarter of 2021 ("YoY").

· *On a non-IFRS basis**, *which is intended to reflect core earnings by excluding certain one-time and/or non-cash items:
-  *Operating profit* was RMB36.5 billion (USD5.8 billion), a decrease of 15% YoY. Operating margin decreased to 27% from 32% last year.
-  *Profit for the period* was RMB26.3 billion (USD4.1 billion), a decrease of 24% YoY. Net margin decreased to 19% from 26% last year.
-  *Profit attributable to equity holders of the Company* for the quarter was RMB25.5 billion (USD4.0 billion), a decrease of 23% YoY.
-  *Basic earnings per share* were RMB2.678. *Diluted earnings per share* were RMB2.620.
· *On an IFRS basis*:
-  Operating profit was RMB37.2 billion (USD5.9 billion), a decrease of 34% YoY. Operating margin decreased to 27% from 42% last year.
-  Profit for the period was RMB23.7 billion (USD3.7 billion), a decrease of 52% YoY. Net margin decreased to 18% from 36% last year. 
-  Profit attributable to equity holders of the Company for the quarter was RMB23.4 billion (USD3.7 billion), a decrease of 51% YoY.
-  Basic earnings per share were RMB2.455. Diluted earnings per share were RMB2.404.
· *Total cash *were RMB304.1 billion (USD47.9 billion) at the end of the period.

Mr. Ma Huateng, Chairman and CEO of Tencent, said, "During the challenging first quarter of 2022, we implemented cost control initiatives and rationalised certain non-core businesses, which would enable us to achieve a more optimised cost structure going forward. We utilised tools such as Mini Programs, Tencent Meeting, and WeCom to help enterprises and consumers weather the resurgence of COVID-19 in China, and continued investing in strategic growth areas including enterprise software, Video Accounts and international games. Looking forward, we will sharpen our focus and sustain our innovation through challenges and cycles, and continue to create value for our users, partners, and society."

[1] Non-IFRS adjustments exclude share-based compensation, M&A related impact such as net (gains)/losses from investee
companies, amortisation of intangible assets and impairment provisions/(reversals), SSV & CPP, income tax effects and others

[2] Figures stated in USD are based on USD1 to RMB6.3482

*1Q2022** Financial Review*

Revenues from VAS^[3] were RMB72.7 billion for the first quarter of 2022, broadly stable compared to the first quarter of 2021. Domestic Games revenues decreased by 1% to RMB33.0 billion, as direct and indirect effects of the minor protection measures impacted active user and paying user counts. During the quarter, the incremental revenues generated by recently launched games, such as League of Legends: Wild Rift and Fight of The Golden Spatula, were largely offset by the decrease in revenues from games such as Moonlight Blade Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile. International Games revenues grew by 4% to RMB10.6 billion, reflecting an increase in revenues from games including VALORANT and Clash of Clans, partly offset by a decrease in revenues from PUBG Mobile as user spending normalised post-COVID. Social Networks revenues grew by 1% to RMB29.1 billion, reflecting increased revenue from our Video Accounts live streaming service, largely offset by decreased revenues from music- and games-related live streaming services.

Revenues from Online Advertising decreased by 18% to RMB18.0 billion for the first quarter of 2022 on a year-on-year basis, reflecting weak demand from advertiser categories including education, Internet services and eCommerce, plus regulatory changes impacting the online advertising industry itself, partly offset by solid demand from the FMCG category, as well as our consolidation of Sogou's advertising revenue. Social and Others Advertising revenues decreased by 15% to RMB15.7 billion, primarily due to sharply lower advertising revenues from our mobile advertising network, which was particularly affected by the regulatory changes, partly offset by greater advertising revenues from Official Accounts, driven by the popularity of notification feeds ads. Media Advertising revenues decreased by 30% to RMB2.3 billion, reflecting lower advertising revenues from our media platforms including Tencent News and Tencent Video, partly offset by advertising revenue contribution from the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Revenues from FinTech and Business Services increased by 10% to RMB42.8 billion for the first quarter of 2022 on a year-on-year basis. FinTech Services year-on-year revenue growth moderated as COVID-19 resurgence in March 2022 impacted commercial payment volume. Business Services revenue recorded a mild year-on-year decrease, as we repositioned our IaaS service from revenue scale-up at all costs to self-sustained growth, and proactively reduced loss-making contracts.

*Other Key Financial Information for **1Q2022*

EBITDA was RMB38.3 billion, down 22% YoY. Adjusted EBITDA was RMB46.1 billion, down 13% YoY.
Capital expenditures were RMB7.0 billion, down 10% YoY.
Free cash flow was RMB15.2 billion, down 54% YoY.

As at March 31, 2022, net debt position totalled RMB11.0 billion. Fair value of our shareholdings^[4] in listed investee companies (excluding subsidiaries) totalled RMB606.0 billion (USD95.5 billion). During the first quarter, the Company repurchased approximately 8.9 million shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for an aggregate consideration of approximately RMB3.0 billion (USD474 million).

[3] From the third quarter of 2021, we disclose revenues from Domestic Games and International Games as new sub-segments
under VAS, reflecting the increasing scale of our International Games business. Mobile games VAS revenues (including mobile
games revenues attributable to our Social Networks business) decreased by 3% year-on-year to RMB40.3 billion, while PC client
games revenues grew by 2% year-on-year to RMB12.1 billion for the first quarter of 2022.

[4] Including those held via special purpose vehicles, on an attributable basis

*Operating Metrics * *As at *

*31 March*

*2022*

As at

31 March

2021

Year-

on-year

change

As at

31 December

2021

Quarter-on-
quarter

change (in millions, unless specified)





Combined MAU of      Weixin and WeChat

*1,288.3*

1,241.6

3.8%

1,268.2

1.6%





Mobile device MAU of QQ

*563.8*

606.4

-7.0%

552.1

2.1%





Fee-based VAS registered      subscriptions

*239.1*

225.7

5.9%

236.3

1.2%

*Business Review and Outlook*

*Communication and Social*

Within Weixin, Video Accounts continued to gain user traction with significant year-on-year growth in video views and time spent, bolstered by expansion in news, knowledge-based and entertainment content, as well as enhanced recommendation technologies. Mini Programs exceeded 500 million DAU and sustained rapid growth in gross merchandise value with deepened penetration in retail, dining and municipal services.

For QQ, we are enriching features for young users to better create, share and connect with each other. We provide avatar tools for users to create short videos featuring their customised Super QQ Show characters. Through Status update, users can choose to let their contacts see what videos or music they are consuming, so that their friends can access and stream the same content within QQ via Mini Programs.

*Digital Content*

Our fee-based VAS subscriptions increased 6% year-on-year to 239 million. We extended our market leadership in the long-form video streaming market with 124 million subscribers, leveraging IP adaptations of successful comics and novels. For music, subscription counts increased to 80 million, driven by high quality content as well as increased consumer willingness to subscribe for music services.

*Domestic Games*

Among our most popular and longer-established games, Honour of Kings, the top-ranked mobile game by DAU in China^[5], released fewer commercially successful items during the Chinese New Year holiday period than in prior years, but its adult user base remained engaged. With the release of popular items inspired by the Chinese floral festival, Honour of Kings resumed year-on-year growth in its grossing receipts in March 2022. Peacekeeper Elite, the second-most popular mobile game by DAU in China^[5], released its third anniversary update in April 2022, enhancing user engagement. We are also successfully expanding our presence in other key genres of games. Fight of The Golden Spatula, an auto battler genre game we released in August 2021, added new champions and game mechanics, and was the sixth most popular mobile game by DAU in China^[5]. Return to Empire, a real-time strategy mobile game we launched in March 2022, became China's second most successful game in its genre by grossing receipts in April 2022^[6].

[5] Source: QuestMobile, 1Q2022

[6] Source: data.ai

*International Games*

We believe that the mobile game industry outside China generally underwent a post COVID-19 normalisation downward in terms of user activities and spending in early 2022. PUBG Mobile experienced this pattern with a year-on-year revenue decline in the first quarter of 2022. However, our PC game VALORANT continued its robust performance with a growing user base and higher paying propensity. We also released titles in other key genres which generated favorable critical response. For example, Dune: Spice Wars, a real-time strategy PC game based on the popular sci-fi IP Dune and published by our subsidiary Funcom, entered into Early Access in April 2022. We and Electronic Arts have jointly developed Apex Legends Mobile, a hero shooter battle royale game based on one of the most successful new PC/console IPs in recent years, which was launched in May 2022.  

*Online Advertising*

For 2022 second quarter-to-date, overall advertising sentiment remained weak as advertisers in categories such as FMCG, eCommerce and travel have reduced their spending significantly. Amid the difficult market environment, we continue to invest in our advertising system and are upgrading our machine learning infrastructure to process data more efficiently. The upgrade should enable us to deliver better targeting and conversion rates for advertisers

*FinTech*

Commercial payment activities have been weak since mid March 2022, due to the resurgence of COVID-19 in several cities in China, which negatively affected payment volume growth in categories such as transportation, dining services and apparel.

*Cloud and Other Business Services*

As we re-focused on healthy growth for Business Services, we scaled back loss-making activities, and concentrated resources on our PaaS solutions in areas such as video cloud and cybersecurity. Taking advantage of our accumulated experience in providing in-house interactive entertainment and video chat services, and our low-latency network infrastructure, we are increasingly migrating our clients from basic CDN (Content Delivery Network) services to sophisticated video-on-demand, live streaming and real-time communication solutions. According to Gartner, Tencent ranked first in China by CPaaS (Communication PaaS) revenues

^[7]
. In cybersecurity, we expanded our client base across network, endpoint and business operation security solutions, fulfilling enterprises' growing needs for protection against cyber-attacks, and for cybersecurity compliance.

[7] Source: Gartner's "Market Share: All Software, Markets, Worldwide, 2021"

For other detailed disclosure, please refer to our website https://www.tencent.com/en-us/investors.htmlhttp://www.tencent.com/ir, or follow us via Weixin Official Account (Weixin ID: Tencent_IR)

*About Tencent*

Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of Internet users.

Our communication and social services, Weixin and QQ, connect users with each other and with digital content and services, both online and offline, making their lives more convenient. Our targeted advertising service helps advertisers reach out to hundreds of millions of consumers in China. Our FinTech and business services support our partners' business growth and assist their digital upgrade.

Tencent invests heavily in talent and technological innovation, actively promoting the development of the Internet industry. Tencent was founded in Shenzhen, China, in 1998. Shares of Tencent (00700.HK) are listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

*For investor and media enquiries, please contact IR@tencent.com*

*Non-IFRS Financial Measures*

To supplement the consolidated results of the Group prepared in accordance with IFRS, certain additional non-IFRS financial measures (in terms of operating profit, operating margin, profit for the period, net margin, profit attributable to equity holders of the Company, basic EPS and diluted EPS), have been presented in this press release. These unaudited non-IFRS financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, measures of the Group's financial performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. In addition, these non-IFRS financial measures may be defined differently from similar terms used by other companies.

The Company's management believes that the non-IFRS financial measures provide investors with useful supplementary information to assess the performance of the Group's core operations by excluding certain non-cash items and certain impact of M&A transactions. In addition, non-IFRS adjustments include relevant non-IFRS adjustments for the Group's major associates based on available published financials of the relevant major associates, or estimates made by the Company's management based on available information, certain expectations, assumptions and premises.

*Forward-looking Statements*

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the business outlook, estimates of financial performance, forecast business plans and growth strategies of the Company. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are stated herein on the basis of the outlook at the time of this press release. They are based on certain expectations, assumptions and premises, some of which are subjective or beyond our control. These forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect and may not be realised in the future. Underlying these forward-looking statements are a lot of risks and uncertainties. In light of the risks and uncertainties, the inclusion of forward-looking statements in this press release should not be regarded as representations by the Board or the Company that the plans and objectives will be achieved, and investors should not place undue reliance on such statements.




*CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
*RMB in millions, unless specified





*Unaudited*


*Unaudited* *1Q2022*

1Q2021


*1Q2022*

4Q2021

*Revenues*

*135,471*

135,303


*135,471*

144,188

VAS

*72,738*

72,443


*72,738*

71,913

Online Advertising

*17,988*

21,820


*17,988*

21,518

FinTech and Business Services

*42,768*

39,028


*42,768*

47,958

Others

*1,977*

2,012


1,977

2,799

*Cost of revenues*

*(78,397)*

(72,668)


*(78,397)*

(86,371)

*Gross profit*

*57,074*

62,635


*57,074*

57,817

*Gross margin*

*42%*

46%


*42%*

40%

Interest income

*1,737*

1,614


*1,737*

1,703

Other gains, net

*13,133*

19,521


*13,133*

86,199

Selling and marketing expenses

*(8,058)*

(8,530)


*(8,058)*

(11,616)

General and administrative expenses

*(26,669)*

(18,967)


*(26,669)*

(24,380)

*Operating profit*

*37,217*

56,273


*37,217*

109,723

*Operating margin*

*27%*

42%


*27%*

76%

Finance costs, net

*(1,935)*

(1,367)


*(1,935)*

(1,863)

Share of (loss)/profit of associates and       
 joint ventures, net

*(6,280)*

1,348


*(6,280)*

(8,267)

*Profit before income tax*

*29,002*

56,254


*29,002*

99,593

Income tax expense

*(5,269)*

(7,246)


*(5,269)*

(3,888)

*Profit for the period*

*23,733*

49,008


*23,733*

95,705

*Net margin*

*18%*

36%


*18%*

66%

*Attributable to:*






Equity holders of the Company

*23,413*

47,767


*23,413*

94,958
Non-controlling interests 

*320*

1,241


*320*

747





Non-IFRS profit attributable to equity   holders of the Company

*25,545*

 

33,118


*25,545*

 

24,880





*Earnings per share for profit   attributable to equity holders of   the Company   **(in RMB per share)*







- basic

*2.455*

5.020


*2.455*

9.957

- diluted

*2.404*

4.917


*2.404*

9.788




*CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME*

RMB in millions, unless specified

*Unaudited* *1Q2022*

1Q2021

*Profit for the period*

*23,733*

49,008

*Other comprehensive income, net of tax:*




Items that may be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss




Share of other comprehensive (loss)/income of associates and joint ventures

(50)

 

288

Transfer of share of other comprehensive income to profit or loss upon  disposal and deemed disposal of associates and joint ventures

*-*

(3)

Net losses from changes in fair value of financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income

*(16)*

-
  Currency translation differences

*(4,461)*

(5,908)
  Other fair value gains

*3,217*

1,163


Items that will not be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss




Share of other comprehensive income of associates and joint ventures

187

381

Loss from changes in fair value of assets held for distribution

*(17,130)*

-

Net (losses)/gains from changes in fair value of financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income

*(58,850)*

18,483

Currency translation differences

*(142)*

207 (77,245)

14,611

*Total comprehensive income for the **period*

*(53,512)*

63,619

*Attributable to:*



   Equity holders of the Company

*(52,277)*

63,756
   Non-controlling interests

*(1,235)*

(137)


*O**THER FINANCIAL INFORMATION*

RMB in millions, unless specified

*Unaudited* *1Q2022*

4Q2021

1Q2021

EBITDA (a)

*38,283*

36,568

49,355

Adjusted EBITDA (a)

*46,102*

42,267

52,927

Adjusted EBITDA margin (b)

*34%*

29%

39%

Interest and related expenses

*2,103*

2,188

1,726

Net (debt)/cash (c)

*(11,035)*

(20,243)

5,581

Capital expenditures (d)

*6,971*

11,661

7,734


*Note:*

(a)  EBITDA is calculated as operating profit minus interest income and other gains/losses, net, and adding back depreciation of property, plant and equipment, 
     investment properties as well as right-of-use assets, and amortisation of intangible assets and land use rights. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as EBITDA
     plus equity-settled share-based compensation expenses.

(b)  Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by revenues.

(c)  Net (debt)/cash represents period end balance and is calculated as cash and cash equivalents, plus term deposits and others, minus borrowings and
     notes payable.

(d)  Capital expenditures consist of additions (excluding business combinations) to property, plant and equipment, construction in progress, investment
     properties, land use rights and intangible assets (excluding video and music content, game licences and other content).




*CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION*
RMB in millions, unless specified

*Unaudited *

Audited *As at *

*March 31, 2022*


As at

December 31, 2021

*ASSETS*





*Non-current assets *




Property, plant and equipment

*61,560*


61,914
Land use rights

*18,451*


17,728
Right-of-use assets

*22,091*


20,468
Construction in progress

*6,529*


5,923
Investment properties

*589*


517
Intangible assets

*178,712*


171,376
Investments in associates

*309,630*


316,574
Investments in joint ventures

*6,509*


6,614
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss

*197,161*


192,184
Financial assets at fair value through other
  comprehensive income

*189,993*


 

250,257
Prepayments, deposits and other assets

*37,093*


37,177
Other financial assets

*4,222*


1,261
Deferred income tax assets

*27,616*


26,068
Term deposits

*21,124*


19,491

*1,081,280*


1,127,552



*Current assets*




Inventories

*2,712*


1,063
Accounts receivable

*52,774*


49,331
Prepayments, deposits and other assets

*69,961*


65,390
Other financial assets

*1,568*


1,749
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss

*11,742*


10,573
Term deposits

*82,604*


83,813
Restricted cash

*2,691*


2,476
Cash and cash equivalents

*188,826*


167,966
 Assets held for distribution

*-*


102,451

*412,878*


484,812



*Total assets*

*1,494,158*


1,612,364


 



*CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION **(continued)*

RMB in millions, unless specified





*Unaudited *

Audited
*As at *

*March 31, 2022*


As at

December 31, 2021

*EQUITY*






*Equity attributable to equity holders of the Company*





Share capital


*-*


-
Share premium


*71,817*


67,330
Treasury shares


*(1,222)*


-
Shares held for share award schemes


*(4,686)*


(4,843)
Other reserves


*9,094*


73,901
Retained earnings


*702,856*


669,911



*777,859*


806,299




*Non-controlling interests*


*67,418*


70,394




*Total equity*


*845,277*


876,693





*LIABILITIES*






*Non-current liabilities*





Borrowings


*148,467*


136,936
Notes payable


*135,465*


145,590
Long-term payables


*9,377*


9,966
Other financial liabilities


*5,783*


5,912
Deferred income tax liabilities


*12,524*


13,142
Lease liabilities


*17,981*


16,501
Deferred revenue


*4,562*


4,526



*334,159*


332,573




*Current liabilities*





Accounts payable


*112,512*


109,470
Other payables and accruals


*48,437*


60,582
Borrowings


*21,656*


19,003
Notes payable


*9,515*


-
Current income tax liabilities


*13,968*


12,506
Other tax liabilities


*2,456*


2,240
Other financial liabilities


*3,326*


3,554
Lease liabilities


*5,927*


5,446
Deferred revenue


*96,925*


87,846
 Dividends payable for distribution in specie


*-*


102,451



*314,722*


403,098




*Total liabilities*


*648,881*


735,671




*Total equity and liabilities*


*1,494,158*


1,612,364




*RECONCILIATIONS OF IFRS TO NON-IFRS RESULTS* *As*

*reported*


*Adjustments*


*Non-IFRS*



RMB in millions,

unless specified

*Share-based*

*compensation *

*(a)*

*Net (gains)/losses *

*from investee *

*companies (b)*

*Amortisation of*

*intangible assets *

*(c)*

*Impairment*

*provisions/ *

*(reversals) (d)*

*SSV & *

*CPP (e)*

*Others (f)*

*Income*

*tax effects*

* (g)*

*Unaudited three months ended March 31, 2022*



*Operating profit*

*37,217*

*8,136*

*(18,559)*

*1,388*

*7,003*

*1,348*

*5*

*–*

*36,538*



*Profit for the period*

*23,733*

*9,635*

*(18,552)*

*3,163*

*7,832*

*1,348*

*5*

*(868)*

*26,296*



*Profit attributable to*

* equity holders*

*23,413*

*9,452*

*(18,542)*

*2,857*

*7,827*

*1,348*

*5*

*(815)*

*25,545*



*Operating margin*

*27%*








*27%*



*Net margin*

*18%*








*19%*

Unaudited three months ended December 31, 2021



Operating profit

109,723

5,664

(100,349)

1,316

15,217

604

976



33,151



Profit for the period

95,705

7,880

(98,046)

3,340

15,573

604

1,568

(866)

25,758



Profit attributable to         
equity holders

94,958

7,776

(97,804)

3,010

15,573

604

1,567

(804)

24,880



Operating margin

76%








23%



Net margin

66%








18%

Unaudited three months ended March 31, 2021



Operating profit

56,273

3,704

(18,331)

1,062

50







42,758



Profit for the period

49,008

5,036

(22,231)

2,699

178





(187)

34,503



Profit attributable to
equity holders

47,767

4,855

(21,829)

2,352

178





(205)

33,118



Operating margin

42%








32%



Net margin

36%








26%













Note:

(a)  Including put options granted to employees of investee companies on their shares and shares to be issued under investee companies' share-based incentive plans which can be acquired by the Group, and other incentives

(b)  Including net (gains)/losses on deemed disposals/disposals of investee companies, fair value changes arising from investee companies, and other expenses in relation to equity transactions of investee companies

(c)  Amortisation of intangible assets resulting from acquisitions

(d)  Impairment provisions/(reversals) for associates, joint ventures, goodwill and other intangible assets arising from acquisitions

(e)  Mainly including donations and expenses incurred for the Group's Sustainable Social Value and Common Prosperity Programme ("SSV & CPP") initiatives (excluding share-based compensation expenses)

(f)  Mainly including expenses incurred for regulatory fines in the Mainland of China and certain litigation settlements

(g)  Income tax effects of non-IFRS adjustments

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