Huawei’s profit grows by 3.2%

Huawei has reported a net profit of CNY64.6bn, upped by 3.2 per cent year-on-year in 2020.

This was disclosed in the company’s 2020 Annual Report.

The report also showed that the company’s sales revenue grew by 3.8 per cent to CNY891.4bn, in the reference year.

Despite the slow growth, however, the company’s business performance was largely in line with forecast, even as it reaffirmed its commitment to creating greater value for customers and society in the face of adversity.

In a statement to Financial Street on Tuesday, the company noted, “Despite operational difficulties brought about by United States’ sanctions in 2019 and 2020, Huawei has continued to invite KPMG to independently and objectively audit its financial statements.”

It said the document produced by KPMG was a standard unmodified audit opinion.

“No matter the circumstances, we will continue to embrace transparency by disclosing operational data to governments, customers, suppliers, employees and partners,” Huawei said.

The company explained that in the year under review, its carrier business continued to ensure the stable operations of more than 1,500 networks across more than 170 countries and regions, which helped support telework, online learning and online shopping throughout the  lockdown occasioned by the Coronavirus Disease.

“Working together with carriers around the world, the company helped provide a superior connected experience and moved forward with more than 3,000 5G innovation projects in over 20 industries like coal mining, steel production, ports and manufacturing.

“Over the past year, Huawei’s enterprise business stepped up efforts to develop innovative scenario-based solutions for different industries and create a digital ecosystem that thrives on joint creation and shared success,” Huawei said.

It explained further that during the pandemic, the company provided technical expertise and solutions that were vital in the fight against the virus.

“One example is an Artificial Intelligence-assisted diagnostic solution based on Huawei Cloud that helped hospitals the world over reduce the burden on their medical infrastructure.

“Huawei also worked with partners to launch cloud-based online learning platforms for more than 50 million primary and secondary school pupils,” the company noted.

The statement added that with the rollout of HarmonyOS and the Huawei Mobile Services ecosystem, Huawei’s consumer business moved forward with its Seamless AI Life strategy (“1 + 8 + N”) to provide consumers with an intelligent experience across all devices and scenarios, focusing on smart office, fitness and health, smart home, easy travel, and entertainment.

“Over the past year, we’ve held strong in the face of adversity,” Huawei’s Rotating Chairman, Ken Hu, was quoted to have said. “We’ve kept innovating to create value for our customers, to help fight the pandemic, and to support both economic recovery and social progress around the world. We also took this opportunity to further enhance our operations, leading to a performance that was largely in line with forecast.

“We will continue to work closely with our customers and partners to support social progress, economic growth, and sustainable development.”