Profits fall at Perfect World
Cryptic acquisition and monetisation strategy impact Q3 results
The Chinese MMO operator Perfect World saw net profits decline by around 40 per cent in the third quarter.
For the three months ending September 30, the company posted net profits of RMB143.6 million ($22.5 million), compared to RMB213.7 million in the same quarter last year.
However, revenues were significantly up over the prior quarter: RMB708.9 million ($111.2 million) versus RMB579.2 million in the third-quarter of 2010.
Online game operation revenues also showed growth, rising to RMB643.2 million from RMB527.1 million in the the same period last year.
Vivien Wang, Perfect World's VP of investor relations and corporate communications, attributed the decline in profits to two primary factors: the completion of the company's acquisition of Cryptic Studios, and the company's decision to "slow-down in-game monetisation activities" on certain games to prolong their lifecycles.
Perfect World recently announced a partnership with the online gaming giant Nexon, which will bring its key products to the Korean market.