Huawei announces Q1 2023 business results

Huawei announced on Friday a 0.8 percent increase in revenue from the same period last year as the sanctions-battered firm reorients its business layout.

The Shenzhen-based telecoms giant posted total revenue of 132.1 billion yuan ($19.1 billion) for the January-March period.

Huawei also announced that its net profit margin in the first quarter was 2.3 percent, down from 4.3 percent in the same period last year.

The firm said in the brief report that “overall operating results are in line with expectations”.

The company, a leading supplier of telecom gear, smartphones and other advanced equipment, has been hit with tight trade restrictions by the United States as relations between Washington and Beijing sour.

Huawei was once the world’s top smartphone maker but saw its sales slump after sanctions cut off access to key parts and barred it from using Google’s Android operating system.

It has since moved into the cloud computing sector — with an aim to invest in data centres around the world — and also focused on offering consumer tech such as smartwatches in addition to phones.

Chairman Eric Xu said in a letter at the end of 2022 that they had “successfully pulled ourselves out of crisis mode”, calling US sanctions “our new normal”.

“We’re back to business as usual,” Xu said.

The company did not provide details Friday about its first-quarter net profit or a breakdown of figures from its various divisions.

Huawei is not publicly listed and its accounts are not subject to the same audits as companies traded on the stock market. Zawya