Huawei "weathers the storm", achieves strong sales

Huawei's full-year revenue in 2023 is expected to reach about $99 billion. (Source: Reuters)

The world's largest telecommunications equipment maker said on December 29 that full-year sales in 2023 would be more than 700 billion yuan ($99 billion), up 9% from 642.3 billion yuan in 2022. The company did not provide more detailed results.

Huawei, a Shenzhen-based company, has been at the center of US-China tensions for years as Washington believes the company poses a national security threat due to its alleged links to the Chinese military.

While 2023 revenue is 20% below its 2020 peak, the company remains optimistic. “After years of hard work, we have weathered the storm. And now we are back on track,” Chairman Ken Hu said in a statement. “Our shared belief has helped us break out of the blockade and move forward together,” he added.

The strong results come just months after the company stunned many experts in the US by releasing a new phone model containing an advanced chip manufactured with partners in China.

Huawei was in trouble in 2020 after the US government restricted the supply of chip technology made with US equipment and software. Huawei’s relationship with the West was also complicated by the detention of Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei, who faces extradition to the US.

Increasingly severe US sanctions, imposed on national security grounds, have choked off the supply of key components Huawei uses. As a result, 2021 revenue fell by nearly a third to 636.8 billion yuan, from 891.4 billion yuan the year before, as core businesses such as smartphones and telecom infrastructure equipment slumped.

While as many as 170 countries have used Huawei hardware in their telecom networks, the company's overseas sales - in networking equipment and smartphones - have been hit by US sanctions.

According to Huawei, about a quarter of its revenue in 2022 will go to research and development efforts. Mr. Hu thanked “every Huawei team member who has accepted the struggle” and their family members for their “silent and unremitting support.”