Huawei net profit up 28% in 2017

SHENZHEN - Chinese technology firm Huawei said Friday that its net profit grew by 28 percent to 47.5 billion yuan ($7.55 billion) last year.

Its sales increased by 16 percent from 2016, reaching 603.6 billion yuan, according to its annual report.

The company saw robust growth in consumer and enterprise sales in 2017, up 32 percent and 35 percent, reaching 237.2 billion yuan and 54.9 billion yuan, respectively. Its carrier business reported 3 percent growth to 297.8 billion yuan.

The strong profit growth, compared with 0.4 percent in 2016, was driven by buoyant consumer and enterprise sales and lower costs due to improved management, said Meng Wanzhou, Huawei CFO.

Huawei's high-end mobile phones made up a 8.4-percent share of the global market in 2017, 5 percentage points higher than in 2016, which boosted profitability, Meng said.

During the past 10 years, Huawei has spent 394 billion yuan in research and development, including 89.7 billion yuan last year.

"We still face grave technological challenges," said Hu Houkun, Huawei's rotating chairman. He said the company is good at innovating products, but needs catch up in terms of fundamental technology, such as artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality.

The domestic market, as well as markets in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe are expected to drive growth for the company in the future, Hu said.

In response to a reporter's question, Hu said that the company recently experienced difficulties in the U.S. market, which has prompted it to "work harder in other markets."

News reports said in January that Huawei's planned deal with U.S. telecom carrier AT&T to sell its smartphones in the United States suffered a setback. China's commerce ministry voiced opposition to trade protectionism over the incident.

Headquartered in the south China city of Shenzhen, privately-owned Huawei is a world-leading telecom solution provider and also the world's third-largest smartphone brand, behind Apple and Samsung.