Huawei revenue jumps 56% amid uncertainty

Chinese telecom gear maker trebled its net profit in 2018-19

A crisis that began with American investigating agencies warning against purchasing Huawei products two years ago has turned into a storm with full sanctions on the firm by the US government.

But nothing has dented its business in the world’s second-largest telecom market — India.

Amid a global trade war, which has the potential to severely threaten its future, Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei has, so far, managed to keep its business here on the upswing.

According to the data at the Registrar of Companies (ROC), revenue from its telecom gear business jumped by 56 per cent during the financial year ended March 31, 2019.

During 2018-19, the revenue of Huawei Telecommunications (India) — the group entity that manufactures and markets telecommunication equipment — grew to ~12,884 crore, from ~8,282 crore in the previous financial year.

Its net profit jumped by 213 per cent to ~623 crore, from ~199 crore in 2017-18.

The firm’s business has grown significantly in the past five years. Since 2014-15, its revenue has grown six times — from ~1,844 crore.

Its profit, however, dwindled during the intervening years. From ~430 crore in 2014-15, it fell to ~199 crore in 2017-18.

The ROC data shows another group firm, Huawei Technologies, which is involved in software services, posted 10.5 per cent growth in net revenue during the year — from ~892 crore in 2017-18 to ~986 crore in 2018-19.

Its net profit, though, fell year-onyear by 10 per cent to ~49.5 crore, from ~54.6 crore. This performance may come as a breather for Huawei, which is betting heavily on the Indian market.

Last week, Jay Chen, its chief executive of the India unit, stressed the importance of the market here. After the US government prohibited it from doing business in one of the largest markets globally, Chen said Huawei was ready to comply with the rules and regulations set by the Government of India.

“The Indian market has an ecosystem now,” Chen said. “If this ecosystem is broken because of the absence of Huawei, the loss will not only be financial but also about losing technology development.”