Huawei has announced its business results for the first quarter of 2021. The company generated Ksh. 2.5 trillion ($23.17 billion) in revenue, a 16.5% decrease compared to the previous year. Its network business maintained steady growth, while consumer business revenue declined, in part as a result of selling the Honor smart device brand in November 2020.
At the same time, Huawei’s net profit margin was up 3.8% points compared to the previous year, at 11.1%. This translates to Ksh. 1.101 trillion ($10.204 billion) profit compared to Ksh. 1.061 trillion ($9.83 billion) recorded the previous year. The growth was attributed to the company’s ongoing efforts to improve quality of operations and management efficiency, as well as a patent royalty income of Ksh. 64.8 billion ($600 million).
Commenting on the financial results, Eric Xu, Huawei’s Rotating Chairman, said, “2021 will be another challenging year for us, but it’s also the year that our future development strategy will begin to take shape. We thank our customers and partners for their ongoing trust. No matter what challenges come our way, we will continue to maintain our business resilience. Not just to survive, but do so sustainably. As always, we will remain focused on the needs of our customers and keep delivering practical business value.”
Huawei has continued with its efforts to fully unleash the value of 5G connectivity. The company is helping carriers around the world roll out their 5G networks, meeting the demands of consumers and industries alike, while boosting its own delivery efficiency. It continues to improve its software engineering capabilities and ramp up investment in the software sector to gradually increase the proportion of software and services in its total revenue mix.
“As always, we remain committed to technological innovation and investing heavily in R&D as we work to address supply continuity challenges caused by restrictions in the market. We will continue making breakthroughs in basic science and pushing the frontiers of technology,” added Mr. Xu.