Huawei sales cross US$100 billion mark in 2018 as smartphones overtake flat network gear business
- Shenzhen-based Huawei has joined the ranks of multinational technology companies in the US$100 billion revenue club
- Road ahead likely to be complicated by US-China trade war and efforts by Washington to block company from key 5G markets
Huawei Technologies’ consumer business group became the biggest contributor to a record revenue for the first time last year, reflecting the gains that Chinese smartphone brands have made both at home and abroad amid flat sales at its network equipment business.
With its latest financial results, Shenzhen-based Huawei has joined the ranks of multinational technology companies in the US$100 billion club, which includes the likes of Apple and Google parent Alphabet.
Revenue for Huawei's carrier business reached 294 billion yuan, roughly the same as the previous year, as revenue at its consumer business surged 45 per cent to 348.9 billion yuan. Revenue at Huawei’s enterprise business rose almost 24 per cent to 74.4 billion yuan.
“Flat sales in the carrier business were due to 4G roll out while 5G is just starting,” said Guo Ping, Huawei's rotating chairman, at Friday's media briefing. “We expect more large-scale deployment of 5G in 2019 … 5G will enable broader connectivity, not just among people but also between people and things and among things. That will create huge opportunities.”
