Huawei CEO says company aims to improve operating efficiency and cash flow generation across business units.
Huawei expects 2016 revenues to reach 520 billion yuan ($74.8 billion), which would represent a 32% increase compared to the previous year, the company’s rotating CEO Eric Xu said in a message to the firm’s employees.
In 2015, the vendor reported revenue of 395 billion yuan, which pushed the Chinese giant passed other key global competitors such as Ericsson, Nokia and Cisco Systems in terms of global sales.
“The year 2016 has seen a flock of black swans – both political and economic – sweep across the globe. Nevertheless, we have remained focused on our strategy and have patiently applied ourselves to making breakthroughs and creating real value for our customers,” the executive said. “In 2017, we will face even greater global political and economic uncertainties and the ICT industry will continue to transform. We must identify the challenges before us.”
The executive said Huawei must sustain profitable growth and maintain healthy cash flow.
“Huawei has realized double-digit revenue growth over the past few years. That said, there has not been much improvement in our operating efficiency and cash flow. Our general and administrative expenses have grown faster than our revenue and sales gross margin and our cash to revenue ratio is on the decline,” Xu said.
Xu added that Huawei’s business units should make effort to increase operating efficiency and reduce general and administrative expenses. The executive also said the consumer business must stay focused on profit and must remain committed to building a high-end brand and establishing a well-functioning retail channel system.
Huawei expects its consumer business to record 178 billion yuan in revenues in 2016, and expects smartphone shipments to have grown by approximately 29% to 139 million units.
