Thunder Networking records poor Q1 performance

Thunder Networking, a Shenzhen-based Chinese technology company and developer of peer-to-peer downloader, announced on May 21 that both its revenue and profit dropped during the first quarter of 2015.

Compared with the same period last year, the company's operating income was recorded at $302 million, down by 8.4 percent, while net profit plummeted by 47.8 percent to $2.4 million. The stock price of the NASDAQ-listed company (XNEI) fell as much as 18 percent on Thursday.

According to Tencent, Thunder's core business -- its online video subscription service -- saw decreases in both revenue, which was down 8.5 percent, and the number of subscribers, down 1.4 percent, as the company sold 100 percent of shares of its affiliates Xunlei and Kankan.

Meanwhile, the company has also said that the buyer of Kankan already made its first payment worth 26 million yuan. The total deal, which is priced at 130 million yuan, was agreed by both parties on March 31, and will be completed before the second quarter ends.

"Thunder is shifting focus strategically, and its first-quarter earnings meet the expectation," said Zou Shenglong, chief executive officer and president of the company. "Our business is moving toward mobile internet, and the move is crucial to our long-term growth plans."

Zou said that Thunder will also further its cooperation with the Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, seeking to expand in the mobile device market, while continuing its so-called "Crystal Project", a business model similar to bitcoin mining.

According to one report, the project focuses on optimising broadband usage of smart routers, which are developed by Thunder, during idle hours, allowing customers to cash in on those hours that their routers spend idle.