Chinese surveillance giant Hikvision warns it may lose customers over US trade ban as quarterly profits surge

Hikvision Digital Technology, China’s top surveillance camera supplier, has warned it may lose customers and miss out on business opportunities after Washington placed the company on a trade blacklist that restricts it from buying American technology. 

The Hangzhou-based company expects “uncertainties” to persist in overseas markets despite continuous dialogue with customers and efforts to sustain stable component supplies, a senior executive said at an investor meeting on Friday.

Hikvision reported a 17 per cent surge in net income to 3.81 billion yuan (US$538 million) in the September quarter against total revenue of 15.92 billion yuan. Full-year net income is forecast to grow 5 to 20 per cent.

“We need time to engage suppliers and customers in ongoing conversations, boosting their confidence through stable supply,” said Hikvision senior vice-president Huang Fanghong in the second investor communication event since the company was added to the Entity List on October 7.

“Some customers may take a ‘wait and see’ approach, wanting to know what would happen to Chinese companies with the sanctions and resume business when it gets clearer,” she said.

The surveillance giant was one of a number of companies added to the list, including its peer Dahua Technology, facial recognition start-ups SenseTime, Megvii and Yitu, voice processing specialist iFlyTek, Xiamen Meiya Pico Information Co and Yixin Science and Technology Co. Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies was placed on the Entity List in May.