BEIJING (AFP) – Huawei’s revenue dipped by just under six per cent in the first half of 2022, company figures showed yesterday, as the Covid-19 pandemic hit sales.
The Chinese telecom giant brought in CNY301.6 billion (USD44.8 billion), according to the data, a slip of 5.9 per cent on the previous year.
“While our device business was heavily impacted, our ICT infrastructure business maintained steady growth,” Huawei’s rotating chairman Ken Hu said in a statement.
Weak global demand due to the pandemic hurt the company’s device business, which sells smartphones and laptops, a Huawei spokeswoman told AFP.
In the second quarter, Huawei lost its position among the top five global smartphone sellers, according to industry data provider Canalys.
A supplier of networking equipment, phones, and other state-of-the-art gear, Huawei has struggled in the wake of a crackdown by the administration of former United States (US) president Donald Trump, which cited cybersecurity and espionage concerns.
Profit growth for the first half slowed to five per cent, down from 9.8 per cent over the same period last year, yesterday’s figures showed.
The company’s smartphone sales have also slowed after the US barred it from using Google’s Android services, continuing to decline in the first half.
The firm launched its own Harmony operating system, which is now being used on 300 million Huawei devices mostly in China, but it is yet to be rolled out internationally.
The company’s global 5G infrastructure expansion plans have also faced a backlash in major economies including the United Kingdom, Australia and India over security concerns.
In the wake of US sanctions, the tech giant has tried to shore up other parts of its business.
It refocussed on the Chinese market and diversified to enterprise and cloud computing, designing smart car components and energy efficiency systems.
“We will harness trends in digitalisation and decarbonisation to keep creating value for our customers and partners, and secure quality development,” Hu said.