WeChat parent Tencent Holdings sales grew by 55 per cent year-on-year during the three months ended March 31, reaching RMB49.552 billion (US$7.1 billion).

This was driven mainly by smart-phone and PC games, payment-related services, digital content and online advertising.

Revenue growth for other categories soared 224 per cent year-on-year for the first quarter, driven mainly by payment-related and cloud services.

Its unaudited results also show 44 per cent growth in operating profit, and profit attributable to equity holders of the company increased by 58 per cent.

Profit attributable to equity holders of the company increased by 58 per cent to RMB14.476 billion for the quarter, while non-GAAP profit attributable to equity holders grew by 42 per cent to RMB14.211 billion.