Netease (NTES) has reported total revenues of US$39.6 million for the first quarter of 2005, representing a 17.9% increase over US$33.6 million for the preceding quarter, and a 57.6% increase over US$25.1 million for the corresponding period a year ago.
Revenues from online game services for the quarter showed continued strong growth, increasing by 25.9% quarter-over-quarter and 135.3% year-over-year to US$31.7 million driven by the success of Fantasy Westward Journey, which became one of China's most popular MMORPGs. Peak and average concurrent user numbers for the game reached 588,000 and 244,000, respectively, for the month of March 2005.
Revenues from advertising services for the first quarter were US$5.5 million, representing a 1.3% increase from the preceding quarter's US$5.4 million.
Total revenues from wireless value-added and other fee-based premium services for the first quarter fell by 18.7% quarter-over-quarter to US$2.4 million.
Netease reported gross profit in the first quarter of US$30.6 million, representing a 22.1% increase over the previous quarter. Total operating expenses for the quarter were US$10.9 million, representing a 17.4% increase from the previous quarter's US$9.3 million.