Smartphones help Huawei boost annual revenue

Strong demand for its smartphones helped Huawei increase annual revenues by 19.5 per cent to 721.2 billion Yuan (£82.4bn) despite ongoing “adversity” from the US and other governments around the world.

The consumer business group was the biggest growing unit of the Chinese mobile giant, with revenues rising by 45 per cent to 348 billion Yuan (£39.8bn), meaning it is now the largest source of income for the company.

Meanwhile, Huawei’s enterprise division saw revenue grow by 23.8 per cent to 74.4 billion Yuan (£8.5bn), while the carrier business fell by 1.3 per cent to 294 billion Yuan (£33.6bn).

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Huawei results

Huawei hopes demand for 5G network infrastructure will drive this figure upward, with the firm already boasting of more than 30 commercial 5G contracts and shipments of more than 40,000 5G base stations.

“Through heavy, consistent investment in 5G innovation, alongside large-scale commercial deployment, Huawei is committed to building the world's best network connections,” declared Guo Ping, Huawei rotating chairman.

However, Huawei has had to contend with accusations that its equipment is insecure, with the US and Australia excluding the company from their 5G rollouts. Huawei has repeatedly denied such accusations, going as far as to sue the US government, but this hasn’t stopped Washington from placing pressure on its allies to adopt a similar stance.

Concerns are easing though, with the EU urging member states to share cybersecurity data with each other rather than banning a single vendor, while Germany is keen to promote supplier diversity and has strengthened security requirements for all suppliers – not just Huawei. It is thought the UK will adopt a similar approach when a report is published later this month.

“Throughout this process, Huawei will continue to strictly comply with all relevant standards to build secure, trustworthy, and high-quality products,” continued Ping. 

“As we work towards this goal, we have been explicitly clear: Cyber security and user privacy protection are at the absolute top of our agenda.

“We are confident that the companies that choose to work with Huawei will be the most competitive in the 5G era. And countries that choose to work with Huawei will gain an advantage for the next wave of growth in the digital economy."

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