diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index 8e00600496c8af8a8e13b9c77260d85378c8f955..9e419147224616bb9b237a923cff6ad43b0e64bc 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ function isHashZero(h) {
 }
 
 function parseString(s) {
-    return web3.toUtf8(s);
+    return s ? web3.toUtf8(s) : s;
 }
 
 function formatAddress(s) {