Huawei sees solid year after first-half sales grow 19 per cent
Telecoms equipment supplier bullish on outlook after posting 19 per cent rise in first-half revenue
Huawei Technologies, the world's second-biggest telecommunications equipment supplier, aims to record "sustainable business growth" this year on strong demand for its 4G long term evolution (LTE) mobile networks and smartphones.
Privately held Huawei yesterday said in a statement its first-half revenue grew 19 per cent to 135.8 billion yuan (HK$169.5 billion) from 113.8 billion yuan a year earlier.
The Shenzhen-based company did not provide a net profit figure but said it achieved an operating margin of 18.3 per cent in the first six months of the year.
"Revenue and profit for the first half are in line with our expectations," said chief financial officer Cathy Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei.
Meng said the company had built up its mobile broadband market share, "driven by increasing investments in LTE networks worldwide".
In a report yesterday, Bernstein Research said Huawei had an 18 per cent share of the global wireless network market, behind Swedish giant Ericsson's 42 per cent share.
As of the first quarter, Huawei has signed more than 290 commercial 4G LTE network contracts and deployed 126 projects.
Despite Huawei's inability to take part in the large telecommunications infrastructure market in the United States because of security concerns, Meng saw many opportunities ahead.
"We are confident that in 2014 we will achieve sustainable growth, robust operations and healthy financials," she said.
Meng said Huawei's consumer business sold its flagship Ascend P7 smartphone in more than 70 countries.
Research firm IDC said Huawei was the world's third-largest smartphone supplier in the first quarter with a 4.9 per cent share, behind leaders Samsung Electronics and Apple.