According to Citigroup in "The Big Banks," NetEase's online gaming revenue for the last quarter is expected to increase by over 9% year-on-year, maintaining a "Buy" rating

Citi published a research report indicating that NetEase (09999.HK) will announce its fourth-quarter results for last year on the 11th of next month, expecting the performance to meet market expectations, mainly driven by the robust performance of its flagship game "Fantasy Westward Journey" on PC, as well as stable performances from "Fantasy Westward Journey" mobile, "Yanyun Shiliusheng," "Identity V," and contributions from newly launched games in the fourth quarter of last year.

The bank predicts that NetEase's total revenue for the last quarter will grow by 6.5% year-on-year to RMB 28.5 billion, with a non-GAAP net profit of RMB 8.8 billion, slightly below market forecasts of RMB 28.8 billion and RMB 9.22 billion. Among them, online game revenue is expected to grow by 9.2% year-on-year to RMB 23.2 billion.

Looking ahead to the first quarter of this year, Citi forecasts that NetEase's total revenue could grow by 3.3% to RMB 29.8 billion, with a non-GAAP net profit expected to reach RMB 10.1 billion, of which online game revenue is expected to grow by 2.8% year-on-year to RMB 24.7 billion, and NetEase Cloud Music (09899.HK) revenue is expected to reach RMB 1.91 billion. Citi maintains its target price for NetEase (NTES.US) at $161, with earnings forecasts and a "Buy" rating unchanged