Tencent reports first annual revenue drop

Tencent Holdings reported a drop in annual revenue for the first time ever, as China's economic slowdown due to the pandemic and a long-running regulatory crackdown took a toll.

The world's largest video game company and the operator of the WeChat messaging platform turned in a revenue of 554.55 billion yuan for 2022, down 1 per cent from a year earlier.

Analysts on an average expected Tencent's revenue to drop by about a percent to 555.15 billion yuan for 2022.

Its revenue for the fourth quarter ended December rose 1 per cent from a year earlier to 144.95 billion yuan, versus a consensus estimate for about 144 billion yuan.