Tencent Music Entertainment Group (HK:1698) saw its stock tumble more than 20% on Wednesday after the company published fourth-quarter results that, while showing revenue and profit gains, failed to satisfy investor expectations.
For the quarter, Tencent Music recorded revenue of 8.64 billion yuan, a 15.9% increase from the same period a year earlier. Net profit attributable to shareholders rose 12.6% to 2.20 billion yuan. Despite those gains, market participants focused on softer user metrics and signaled concern over the firms near-term momentum.
Monthly active users for the companys online music service declined 5% year-on-year to 528 million, even as paying users grew 5.3% to 127.4 million. Subscription revenue continued to expand at a steady pace, increasing 13.2% year-on-year. Non-subscription music services posted stronger growth, surging by more than 40%, backed by advertising and offline performances.
Investors reacted sharply to the combination of slowing MAU growth and the companys decision to stop reporting certain key operating metrics, specifically monthly active users and average revenue per user, beginning next quarter. The stock dropped as much as 24% during trading to HK$43.6 on the Hong Kong exchange.
Looking at the full year, Tencent Musics revenue rose 15.8% to 32.9 billion yuan. Net profit for the year climbed 66.4%, a rise the company attributed in part to a one-off gain.
Context and market reaction
The reported top-line and bottom-line improvements highlight continued monetization in areas such as subscriptions and non-subscription services. Nevertheless, the decline in monthly active users for online music and the move to cease publication of some operating metrics introduced fresh uncertainty about visibility into the platforms user trends. Those developments coincided with a pronounced intraday share price decline on the Hong Kong market.
What the results show
- Quarterly revenue: 8.64 billion yuan, up 15.9% year-on-year.
- Quarterly net profit attributable to shareholders: 2.20 billion yuan, up 12.6% year-on-year.
- Monthly active users for online music: 528 million, down 5% year-on-year.
- Paying users: 127.4 million, up 5.3% year-on-year.
- Subscription revenue growth: 13.2% year-on-year; non-subscription music services growth: over 40% year-on-year.
- Full-year revenue: 32.9 billion yuan, up 15.8%; full-year net profit: up 66.4%, aided by a one-off gain.
Managements decision to stop reporting certain operating metrics will reduce the level of publicly available detail about user engagement and monetization per user, a factor that analysts and investors will need to consider when assessing future quarters.