NetEase.com (NTES)

[eastunder]

NetEase Earnings Grow 31%, Beating Street Forecasts

By KEVIN SHALVEY, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Posted 06:52 PM ET

http://news.investors.com/Article/601338/201202151852/netease-q4-profit-beats-analyst-expectations.htm?ven=yahoocp,yahoo


NetEase (NTES) is still in the game.

The Chinese Internet portal and gaming site late Wednesday reported sales of $333.5 million, up 35% from $247.5 million in its fourth-quarter 2010.

Wall Street had estimated sales would be $317.3 million, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Per-share profit minus items rose 31% to $1.09 from 83 cents. Analyst consensus was $1.02.

NetEase has grown fast, buoyed by its gaming division, which accounted for 86% of sales in the quarter.

Along with its own "Fantasy Westward Journey," NetEase has exclusive Chinese licensing of Activision Blizzard's (ATVI) "World of Warcraft" first-person shooter franchise.

WoW is showing signs of age, and the company is hoping other games, mostly developed in-house, will pick up the slack. It's long been rumored, too, that NetEase eventually will pick up licensing for "Call of Duty," "Diablo III" and other popular Activision Blizzard franchises.

For the current quarter, analysts are expecting EPS minus items of 98 cents, up 14% from the year-earlier quarter. But that would mark the first decline in sequential quarters since Q1 2009.

Analysts expect Q1 revenue of $300.2 million, up 31%.

Company executives were slated to hold a conference call with analysts at 8 p.m. EST.

NetEase shares were up 2.5% after hours, after it released its results.