Huawei revenue surges nearly 30% in first 9 months on back of rising smartphone sales
The Chinese tech giant posted total revenue of US$82.3 billion and net profit of US$8.8 billion in the past three quarters
However, Huawei posted a 13.7 per cent decline in net profit to 62.9 billion yuan, down from 72.9 billion yuan in the same nine-month period in 2023.
The privately held company did not provide a breakdown on the performance of its different business segments in the filing.
Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei: US tech is great, but we have to build our own
The 80-year-old CEO talks about Huawei’s struggles and his admiration for US technology in a conversation with students
Ren, 80, said Huawei needs to learn from the receptive culture of the US, which has allowed the country to become highly advanced in science and technology, according to a transcript of his recent conversation with students and academics. It was published on Thursday on the website of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), a prestigious global coding competition for university students.
“The US has set an example for all countries and companies worldwide on being open,” he said at the Huawei-sponsored event. “If [a country] is closed off, it will fall behind.”
Since then, Huawei has transformed itself into a major force supporting China’s self-sufficiency drive, in areas ranging from artificial-intelligence (AI) chips to operating systems.
Ren said the AI trend is “unstoppable”. “Just like how the invention of trains, textile machinery and ships in Britain created a turning point in history, AI applications are creating the turning point of our times,” he said.
Despite the company’s recent breakthroughs, Huawei is “still struggling”, according to Ren. “Until today, we cannot say for certain that we can survive,” he said, while underscoring Huawei’s lack of access to better chips and technologies that are available to its competitors.
“American technologies and tools are very good … [but] Huawei cannot use them; we had no choice but to create our own tools,” he said. “Open innovation and utilising the advanced achievements of others is the true way forward for an enterprise.”
Ren, who remains the undisputed leader of the Chinese tech giant even after cutting down his involvement in day-to-day operations, has frequently expressed his admiration for the US and rival Apple.
