NetEase.com Inc yesterday said its third-quarter profit jumped 20 percent from the same period a year ago, led by strong performance in the online gaming sector.

Its earnings in the quarter ended on September 30 totaled 313.3 million yuan (US$46.1 million), up from 260.2 million yuan in the same period last year.

The firm's total revenue for the quarter amounted to 807 million yuan, a 29-percent rise on a yearly basis. Online games generated 675.1 million yuan in revenue during the period, accounting for nearly 84 percent of total revenue, against 468.7 million yuan in the same quarter last year. Advertising contributed 113 million yuan to total revenue in the period, up from 85.5 million yuan a year earlier.

The firm saw its gross profit margin for the online game business in the third quarter fall to 89.7 percent from 91.2 percent the in the previous quarter due to a business tax refund received in the second quarter. NetEase reported that gross profit margin for advertising in the third quarter was 26.9 percent, a drop from 54 percent a year earlier.

"Our 'Fantasy Westward Journey Online' continues to remain strong in the domestic market, and we have also launched a new expansion pack for Tianxia II," said William Ding, chief executive of NetEase.

(Shanghai Daily November 14, 2008)