LINKTONE Ltd, a Chinese provider of mobile-phone games and ringtones, reported a loss in the first quarter on lower demand from phone users.
The company forecast sales will fall in the current quarter, Bloomberg News reported. Net loss was US$3.4 million, or 14 US cents per American depositary share, compared with net income of US$2.3 million, or nine US cents, a year earlier, the Shanghai-based company said in a statement. Sales fell to US$14.2 million from US$23 million. Revenue at mobile-phone content providers, including Linktone and Tom Online Inc, is falling after wireless carriers China Mobile Ltd and China Unicom Ltd tightened marketing rules in response to user complaints of excessive promotions. Linktone's Nasdaq-listed shares have dropped 47 percent since July, when the restrictions started. "We continue to face a challenging regulatory environment in our wireless value-added services business," the company said .