Huawei said to reward staff for boosting revenue over the first-half despite difficulties thrown up by US ban

Huawei Technologies quickened revenue growth to roughly 30 per cent in the first half after select teams secured critical supplies to keep production going despite US technology export restrictions, people familiar with the matter said.

Two months into a Trump-administration ban that cut Huawei off from American suppliers, China’s largest technology company is starting to feel the pinch. Still, while revenue growth of 30 per cent marks a slowdown from 39 per cent in 2019’s first three months, it was up sharply from 2018, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Executives told staff they were relieved it hadn’t been worse, one of the people said.

The question is how long Huawei can keep up that momentum as the curbs begin to weigh. Huawei is pulling out all the stops right now to boost sales, assigning as many as 10,000 developers across three shifts a day to work on alternatives to American software and circuitry. It has thus far managed to boost revenue by aggressively securing contracts for fifth-generation networking equipment, the people said.

Meanwhile, the company is boosting internal morale, granting awards to a number of employees for helping it avert an immediate crisis, they said. Huawei hosted a ceremony to commemorate the winners and posted that event on an internal online forum for staff, the people added. The recipients were mainly responsible for hoarding components ahead of the ban, identifying replacements for American parts or negotiating with suppliers to keep up the flow of materials. It wasn’t clear if they got actual financial remuneration.

Huawei remains on shaky ground: it’s still on a US blacklist that threatens to choke off the American components and software it needs to run its smartphone and networking businesses. Billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei warned just last month that the sanctions would curtail its revenue by roughly US$30 billion in the coming two years, wiping out its growth. It’s now making adjustments to businesses most threatened by US sanctions, reassigning employees from the carrier and enterprise units to the faster-growth consumer division, the people said.