Huawei Technologies said on Tuesday that its revenue for 2019 amounted to 858.8 billion yuan ($123 billion), marking a 19.1% rise from the previous year but missing the company’s target.
Rotating Chairman Eric Xu noted that the revenue was in-line with original expectations but that came $12 billion short of the $135 billion target the company wanted to set in April 2019. Xu stressed that Huawei failed to reach that target due to the fact it was blacklisted by the United States in May.
The Chinese tech giant’s net profit for the twelve-month period climbed 5.6% year on year to 62.7 billion yuan. Despite the increase, profit growth was slower than in 2018 when it stood at 25%.
As part of a long-term, ongoing investment in technological innovation and research, Huawei invested 15.3% of its 2019 revenue back into R&D. Its total R&D spend over the past decade now exceeds 600 billion yuan.
“2019 was an extraordinary year for Huawei,” said Eric Xu. “Despite enormous outside pressure, our team forged ahead with a singular focus on creating value for our customers. We worked hard to earn their respect and trust, as well as that of our partners around the globe. The business remains solid.”
In 2019, Huawei’s carrier business led the commercial rollout of 5G networks. To further commercial adoption and promote new innovation in 5G applications, the company established 5G joint innovation centres together with carriers worldwide. Huawei’s RuralStar base station solutions can effectively address coverage problems in remote areas. These solutions are being used in over 50 countries and regions, bringing mobile Internet to more than 40 million people living in remote areas. In 2019, sales revenue from Huawei’s carrier business grew 3.8% year-on-year.
Huawei’s enterprise business continues to support the digital transformation of customers across industries as the company helps lay the foundations for the digital world. Globally, more than 700 cities and 228 Fortune Global 500 companies have chosen Huawei as their digital transformation partner. In 2019, Huawei announced its computing strategy with the aim of cultivating fertile soil for the intelligent world to flourish. As part of this strategy, the company launched the world’s fastest AI processor, the Ascend 910, and the AI training cluster Atlas 900. In 2019, sales revenue from Huawei’s enterprise business reached CNY89.7 billion, up 8.6% year-on-year.
Huawei’s consumer business continues to see robust growth, with a total of 240 million smartphones shipped throughout the year. The company reports further progress in developing the Seamless AI Life ecosystem across all scenarios and devices, including personal computers, tablets, wearables, and smart screens. In 2019, sales revenue from Huawei’s consumer business reached CNY467.3 billion, up 34% year-on-year.
“The external environment will only get more complicated going forward,” Xu cautioned. “We need to keep enhancing the competitiveness of our products and services, promoting open innovation, and creating greater value for our customers and society at large. This is the only way we can seize the historic opportunities presented by the digital and intelligent transformation of industries, and maintain robust growth in the long run.”
