ONLINE game developer and news portal Netease Inc said profit in the first quarter rose 13 percent on the popularity of its games.
Quarterly earnings reached 1.1 billion yuan (US$171 million) while income jumped 12.7 percent year on year to 2.3 billion yuan, the company said in a stock exchange filing today.
Online games revenue grew 11.3 percent from a year earlier to 2 billion yuan and online advertising revenue expanded 16 percent to 166 million yuan.
NetEase chief executive officer William Ding said the company will launch a number of mobile games later this year to consolidate its market position.
China's overall online game market is expected to grow 24 percent in the first quarter to 82 billion yuan this year, according to Internet research firm iResearch Inc.