Huawei reports 13.1% sales rise in H1

[PARIS] Chinese telecom giant Huawei on Monday reported a first-half revenue rise of 13.1 per cent year-on-year as it appeared to emerge from a sales slump seen at the start of the year.

Also reporting a net profit margin of 9.2 per cent, Huawei said communications technologies were both a tool for combatting the coronavirus and an engine for economic recovery.

Huawei is the world's top supplier of telecom networking equipment and number-two smartphone maker behind Samsung.

The 454 billion yuan (S$90.07 billion) first half revenue figure points to a sharp uptick in sales for the second quarter, after first-quarter revenue came in at just 182.2 billion yuan, a mere 1.4 per cent increase year-on-year.

Analysts blamed the downturn in the three months to end-March on the coronavirus and international efforts to contain the company's involvement in foreign telecom networks.

The pandemic emerged in China in December before spreading globally.

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The second-quarter net profit margin also marked an improvement over the first, when it had been 7.3 per cent.

AFP