Watch out Apple? Huawei revenue jumped this year
Revenues at the Chinese smartphone maker Huawei jumped 40 per cent in the first half of the year.
The figures
Revenue for the year to the end of June came in at 245.5bn (£28bn), up 40 per cent on last year's 175.6bn yuan, however, its operating margin fell to 12 per cent from 18 per cent in the same period last year. It revealed the figures in a brief update which did not disclose profits.
Why it's interesting
The smartphone slowdown across the globe has (or will soon) hit the likes of Apple and Samsung, but Huawei is ploughing ahead building on its strong growth in the huge consumer market of China, and elsewhere last year. Its latest flagship model launch iun April, the P9, went down a treat according to initial shipment figures.
What Huawei said
"We achieved steady growth across all three of our business groups, thanks to a well-balanced global presence and an unwavering focus on our pipe strategy. We are confident that Huawei will maintain its current momentum, and round out the full year in a positive financial position backed by sound ongoing operations," said finance chief Sabrina Meng.
In short
It still has some way to go to catch up with smartphone kings Apple and Samsung, but in third position, its place in the top three biggest mobile brands in the world will likely be untouched by upstarts such as Lenovo and Xiaomi and with a slowdown expected for the top two, that gap at the top could narrow. Analysts will be watching whether that momentum will continue with stiff competition and if it can defy that slowdown.