Dubai: Chinese smartphone maker Huawei reported a 76 per cent increase in its 2021 net profit and said the performance was in line with the company’s own forecast.
Huawei posted a profit of $17.8 billion on a revenue of roughly $100 billion. The company’s R&D expenditure reached about $22.38 billion in 2021, representing 22.4 per cent of its total revenue, bringing its total R&D expenditure over the past 10 years to over $132.5 billion.
“Overall, our performance was in line with the forecast. Our carrier business remained stable, our enterprise business experienced steady growth, and our consumer business quickly expanded into new domains. In addition, we embarked on a fast track of ecosystem development,” said Guo Ping, Huawei’s Rotating Chairman, in a statement.
Huawei’s carrier business generated $44.1 billion in revenue and helped telcos around the world deploy leading 5G networks. By working with carriers and partners, Huawei has signed more than 3,000 commercial contracts for industrial 5G applications.
Huawei’s enterprise business also grew rapidly, generating $16.06 billion in revenue during 2021. In the past year, Huawei launched 11 scenario-based solutions for key sectors such as government, transportation, finance, energy, and manufacturing. The company also established multiple dedicated teams, including a coal mine team, a smart road team, and a customs and port team, to combine resources in a way that more efficiently serves the needs of its customers.
“Despite a revenue decline in 2021, our ability to make a profit and generate cash flows is increasing, and we are more capable of dealing with uncertainty,” said Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s CFO.
Thanks to the profitability of its major businesses, the company’s cash flow from operating activities dramatically increased in the reported period, amounting to $9.3 billion. Huawei said its liability ratio has dropped to 57.8 per cent, and that its overall financial structure has become “more resilient” and “flexible”.
Robust consumer business
Huawei’s consumer business generated $38.17 billion in revenue in 2021 and continued to see steady sales growth in smart wearables, smart screens, true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds, and Huawei Mobile Services (HMS). In particular, the smart wearable and smart screen segments both saw more than 30 per cent year-on-year growth. In total, HarmonyOS was used in over 220 million Huawei devices as of 2021, becoming the world’s fastest growing mobile device operating system.
