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Ken Hu says Huawei will continue to work closely with its customers and partners to support social progress, economic growth and sustainable development.
Ken Hu says Huawei will continue to work closely with its customers and partners to support social progress, economic growth and sustainable development.

Huawei's profit, revenues up amid challenging 2020

Dubai - China remains growth generator with revenues up 15.4%

By Alvin R. Cabral

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Published: Thu 1 Apr 2021, 3:38 AM

Huawei Technologies on Wednesday reported an increase in its profit for 2020, a year that saw it face multiple challenges, and pledged that it will continue expanding its business while aiding the global economy through the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chinese tech giant said in its annual report that while growth slowed, its business performance was "largely in line with forecasts", with revenues up 3.8 per cent at 891.4 billion yuan ($136.7 billion) and profit 3.2 per cent better at 64.6 billion yuan ($9.9 billion).


Revenues have leapt almost three-quarters since 2016, when it was at 521.6 billion yuan, on the strength of its smartphone segment that has rivalled both Samsung and Apple. In 2018, it overtook Apple, then briefly displaced Samsung as the world's top smartphone vendor in the second quarter of 2020.

Despite the pressure stemming from the United States placing them on a blacklist — the alleged reasons for which Huawei has continuously denied — the Shenzhen-headquartered company remains optimistic on its future.


"Over the past year we've held strong in the face of adversity. We've kept innovating to create value for our customers, to help fight the pandemic and to support both economic recovery and social progress around the world," Ken Hu, Huawei's rotating chairman, said in a statement.

"We also took this opportunity to further enhance our operations, leading to a performance that was largely in line with forecast. We will continue to work closely with our customers and partners to support social progress, economic growth and sustainable development."

Huawei's enterprise business was the biggest performer, with revenues up 23 per cent at 100.3 billion yuan. Its consumer business unit — largely driven by its so-called '1+8+N' strategy for the 5G era — rose 3.3 per cent to 482.9 billion yuan. Its carrier business eked out a 0.2 per cent gain to 302.6 billion yuan.

Its home market, China, remained a growth generator, with revenues up 15.4 per cent at 582.9 billion yuan. The company posted negative growth in the Americas (-24.5 per cent), Emea (-12.2 per cent) and the Asia-Pacific (-8.7 per cent).

Still, Huawei's operations remained robust. In 2020, its carrier business worked on more than 3,000 5G projects spanning over 20 industries, including coal mining, steel production, ports and manufacturing. It also oversees the operations of more than 1,500 networks across over 170 countries.

In its enterprise unit, Huawei said that over 700 cities and Fortune 500 firms have selected the company as their digital transformation partner. The number of its smartphone users, meanwhile, has crossed 730 million.

"The resurgence of Covid-19 and geopolitical uncertainty will present ongoing challenges for the global community. Huawei believes deeply in the power of digital technology to provide fresh solutions to the problems we face," Hu added.

— alvin@khaleejtimes.com


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