Viet Son Net

NetEase (Nasdaq:NTES) recorded net income of RMB 452.26 million the first quarter of 2010, down from RMB 571.77 million in the prior quarter and up against RMB 416.72 million in the first quarter of 2009, the company reported May 19. Diluted earnings per American depository share (ADS) came to RMB 3.47. During the period, NetEase recognized revenues of RMB 1.19 billion, compared with RMB 1.29 billion and RMB 781.7 million in the preceding and year-ago quarters, respectively. Of the total, the company’s online games business generated RMB 1.085 billion in the quarter, compared with RMB1.089 billion in the previous quarter and RMB 724.02 million in the first quarter of 2009, while advertising revenues halved to RMB 91.55 million from RMB 183.68 million in the previous quarter but having doubled compared against RMB 41.03 million in the first three months of 2009. The company reported a foreign exchange loss of RMB 39.5 million in the quarter.

NetEase said it plans to launch an expansion of its 2.5D martial arts MMORPG Heroes of Tang Dynasty in the fourth quarter of 2010, as well as expansions for Westward Journey II and III in the third quarter. The company said its application to release the second expansion of World of Warcraft, “Wrath of the Lich King” (WLK) is still under regulatory review.

NetEase (Nasdaq:NTES) has denied recent industry rumors that Wrath of the Lich King (“WLK”), the second expansion of its licensed 3D MMORPG World of Warcraft, has been rejected by the General Administration of Press and Publication of China (GAPP), duowan.com reported April 20 citing a company public relations officer.

NetEase has submitted the game for review and received no negative feedback from the GAPP to date, company PR said, according to the report.

The GAPP said in March that its Shanghai branch was reviewing “WLK” but did not disclose any timeline for its approval.