Shares of Kingsoft Corp. tumbled after the Chinese technology company posted soft third-quarter earnings, weighed by its games segment.
The stock fell as much as 11% to 27.24 Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to US$3.50, marking the lowest level in a year, before paring some losses to last trade at HK$27.80.
Kingsoft, which makes office software and games and provides cloud services, on Wednesday posted a net profit of 213.05 million yuan, down 48% from the same period a year earlier.
Revenue for the period fell 17% from a year earlier, weighed down by a decline in the top line of its online-games and other business, according to Kingsoft Chief Executive Tao Zou. He cited lower contribution from existing games.
The weak results could have stemmed from a high-base effect in the games segment and the poor performance of Kingsoft's highly anticipated game titles, Nomura analysts Bing Duan and Joel Ying said in a note.
The company's games segment could recover from a trough when it releases two international games--including popular puzzle game "Angry Birds"--in China over the next few quarters, the analysts said.
Still, solid execution in its games segment could be crucial for Kingsoft, as higher expenses could continue to erode this "cash cow" business and the segment's outlook remains uncertain, they added.