Chinese WoW Operator NetEase Posts Q3 Revenue, Profits Rise

Chinese World of Warcraft operator NetEase has posted financial results for the third quarter of the current fiscal year, noting a rise in revenue year-over-year for its online game services. The company reported a rise in both revenue and profits for the quarter, despite the fact that subscriptions for Activision Blizzard's popular MMO World of Warcraft continue to drop. For the quarter ended September 30, 2011, NetEase posted revenues of 1.8 billion Chinese yuan ($276.5 million) for its online game services sector, up 39.8 percent year-over-year. Overall, the company posted revenues of 2.0 billion Chinese yuan ($308.30 million), up 39.8 percent year-over-year, and profits of 814 million Chinese yuan ($128.2 million), up 41.3 percent. In the previous fiscal year, the company saw its annual sales and profits driven by World of Warcraft, which the Beijing-based company licenses from Blizzard Entertainment. Following the success of the WoW partnership, the company is currently eyeing up Blizzard Activision's Call of Duty license.