Huawei posts revenue rise as US crackdown fails to halt growth
Huawei has reported a sharp increase in revenue for the third quarter as US sanctions failed to hamper its smartphone shipments.
The Chinese tech giant pulled in revenue of 610.8bn yuan (£67.2bn) in the first three quarters, up 24.4 per cent year-on-year. Revenue was up 27 per cent in the three-month period to the end of September.
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Huawei’s growth was driven by continued strong sales in its smartphone division, with 185m phones shipped so far this year. The company also continued sales of 5G infrastructure, signing 60 commercial contracts.
Victor Zhang, Huawei senior vice president, said: “Huawei’s third-quarter results today demonstrate that consumers, telecoms operators and European policy makers continue to choose Huawei based on the high-quality and efficiency of our products and services.”
However, the embattled Chinese firm may still face trouble ahead, as the full extent of the US crackdown is yet to kick in.
President Donald Trump has added Huawei to a trade blacklist, effectively banning it from doing business with American companies.
Trump’s administration has granted the firm a reprieve until November, after which the company will be denied access to Anerican-made technology, including Google apps.
Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has played down concerns about the ban, saying his company had started producing equipment without any US components.
However, he has previously admitted that the company could take a $30bn revenue hit this year.
Read more: Huawei is already making equipment without US parts, says founder
“Huawei’s overseas shipments bounced back quickly in the third quarter although they are yet to return to pre-US ban levels,” said Nicole Peng, vice president for mobility at consultancy Canalys.
“The third-quarter result is truly impressive given the tremendous pressure the company is facing. But it is worth noting that strong shipments were driven by devices launched pre-US ban, and the long-term outlook is still dim,” she added.
Main image credit: Getty