Xiaomi reaches its 100 million annual target for smartphone shipments two months ahead of plan

Xiaomi, the world’s fourth largest smartphone vendor, reached its annual goal of 100 million units on Friday night, company chief executive Lei Jun said on his Sina Weibo account on Saturday.

Beijing-based Xiaomi’s smartphone shipments in the first 10 months increased 43 per cent year on year. Last year, the company also achieved its annual target two months earlier by shipping 70 million phones in the first 10 months.

In comparison, China’s largest smartphone maker Huawei Technologies reached 100 million smartphone shipments in July, putting it on track for its annual target of 200 million.

Xiaomi’s better-than-expected shipments stand in contrast to the sluggish performance of its shares, which have slumped 30 per cent since their debut in Hong Kong in June, when Xiaomi raised US$4.72 billion.

In the second quarter Xiaomi’s shipments rose 49 per cent year on year to 31.9 million compared to the 1.8 per cent decline seen in overall global shipments, according to the research firm IDC. That performance put it in the No 4 spot globally after Samsung Electronics, Huawei and Apple, and ahead of Chinese vendor Oppo in fifth spot. Xiaomi said its total sales for the second quarter, including non-smartphone products, grew 68.3 per cent to 45.23 billion yuan (US$6.5 billion).