New | Huawei rides 4G mobile network expansion

Huawei Technologies, the world's second-biggest telecommunications equipment supplier, expects its operating profit growth last year to reach as high as 17.9 per cent, mainly on the back of rapid 4G mobile network expansion.

Cathy Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer, yesterday said the Shenzhen-based company's operating profit was estimated to be between 33.9 billion yuan (HK$42.4 billion) and 34.3 billion yuan, up from 29.1 billion yuan in 2013.

Global sales were expected to have risen as much as 20.9 per cent. Privately held Huawei calculated revenue to be between 287 billion yuan and 289 billion yuan, outpacing 2013 sales of 239 billion yuan.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, said revenue at the company's principal carrier network business rose 15 per cent over the year, driven by the jump in 4G network investments worldwide and continued 3G mobile deployments.

Pierre Ferragu, a senior analyst at Bernstein Research, said in a report that Asia-Pacific accounted for 22 per cent of global wireless equipment spending last year, led by the massive 4G network roll-out of China Mobile on the mainland.

Reports last year said mainland rivals ZTE Corp and Huawei won 34 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively, of the latest orders for 4G equipment made by China Mobile, the world's largest wireless network operator by subscribers. European competitors Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent received a smaller share of orders.