Chinese tech group Tencent reversed two successive quarters of revenue declines and said it was “well positioned” to benefit from the ending of the country’s zero-Covid policy. The tech group posted quarterly revenue of Rmb145bn ($21bn) in the three months to December, a 0.5 per cent increase from the same period a year earlier and in line with analysts’ forecasts. Tencent’s net profit rose 19 per cent to Rmb29.7bn, slightly above analysts’ estimates.

Chief executive Pony Ma struck an optimistic tone on Wednesday, saying the company was positioned to “benefit from” a “rebound in China[’s] economic growth which our users’ activity suggests is now under way”.

The company’s sales were subdued to the end of 2022 as China emerged from zero-Covid restrictions, but its fintech arm has since experienced “double-digit growth” in the first quarter of this year as consumers headed back to the shops as China reopened.