SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies saw modest revenue growth in the first half of the year, with its core information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and consumer businesses generating the lion’s share.
Revenues rose to 310.9 billion yuan ($43.01 billion), up 3.1% on the same period a year earlier, the Shenzhen-based technology giant announced on Friday.
Huawei’s profit margin rose to 15%, with a net profit of 46.6 billion yuan, making, according to Reuters calculations, around a threefold improvement on a year earlier.
A Huawei spokesperson said improvements in operational efficiency, sales strategy and the company’s product mix had a “very positive” impact on company profits.
Huawei’s ICT infrastructure business, which includes 5G base stations and enterprise systems, made up 167.2 billion yuan to revenues, while its consumer business, which includes smartphones and other devices, contributed 103.5 billion yuan.
“In the first half of 2023, our ICT infrastructure business remained solid and our consumer business achieved growth,” said Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s rotating chairperson and the daughter of its founder, Ren Zhengfei.
Last week Richard Yu, the head of the company’s consumer business, said Huawei’s handsets are “on the road to a comeback,” with it domestic mobile market share growing 76.1% in the second quarter.
Several rounds of U.S. restrictions on exports of U.S.-made technology limited Huawei to producing last-generation 4G handsets, causing its once sizeable handset market share to plummet both at home and abroad.
In July research firms told Reuters they expect Huawei to return to making 5G smartphones by the end of the year by procuring chips domestically, in spite of the U.S. restrictions.
($1 = 7.2282 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by David Kirton; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
