Huawei has been on a comeback lately, bringing back its flagship Mate series phones and more powered by its in-house Kirin chipsets. The company has not only claimed the top spot in its home market but is also reporting more than double the profit in all business sectors for 2023 despite the US ban.
According to a report by Nikkei Asia, Huawei made a net profit of 87 billion yuan, which represents its biggest growth in over a decade. The year 2021 was an exception due to Huawei separating its Honor sub-brand as an independent entity.
The Chinese OEM’s consumer electronics revenue reached 251.5 billion yuan last year, which represents a remarkable growth of 17.3%. This figure translates to approximately $38.69 billion.
Huawei’s 2023 revenue reached 704.2 billion yuan ($108.32 billion), up from 642.33 billion yuan ($98.74 billion) in 2022, which was a 9.6% increase. The company is spending more than ever on its R&D efforts, with expenditure hitting a historic high of 164.7 billion yuan. This marks 23% of its revenue for the year.
Huawei is now aiming to ship a total of 100 million smartphones in 2024 and also plans to introduce its first 5nm chip in partnership with its foundry supplier SMIC.
But this surprising growth has come with consequences. The US, which has been trying its best to hinder Huawei’s business, launched an investigation as a result of the company’s growth to find out where it’s sourcing its Kirin chipsets from. Not only that, but the US is now also looking to cut off the company’s chip supply in China.
Huawei’s comeback has forced American tech giants like Apple to redouble their investments in China to get the ball rolling in the region. The Cupertino giant discounted a range of its products in China too, but that effort did not work out, resulting in a double-digit percent dip in shipments. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently visited China and mentioned that its supply chain in China is extremely crucial to the company.
