Huawei posted revenues of CNY179.7 billion ($26.8 billion) in the first quarter of 2019, an increase of 39% year-on-year, the company said in a release.
The vendor’s net profit margin in Q1 2019 was about 8%, slightly higher compared to the same period last year.
“Huawei maintained its focus on ICT infrastructure and smart devices, and continued to boost the efficiency and quality of its operations, which has helped contribute to its solid performance in the first quarter of 2019,” the company said.
“2019 will be a year of large-scale deployment of 5G around the world, meaning that Huawei’s Carrier Business Group has unprecedented opportunities for growth,” Huawei added. “By the end of March 2019, Huawei had signed 40 commercial contracts for 5G with leading global carriers, and had shipped more than 70,000 5G base stations to markets around the world.”
Huawei signed 23 5G contracts in Europe, six in Asia-Pacific (APAC), 10 in the Middle East and one in Africa. The Chinese vendor also confirmed it expects to have shipped 100,000 5G stations worldwide by May.
Rival vendors Nokia and Ericsson publicly announced 16 5G contracts each, as of the end of last month. Nokia’s 5G contracts include AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile US, US Cellular, A1, Salt, Telenor Group, Telia Company, TIM San Marino, Vodafone Italy, STC, Rai, NTT Docomo, KT, Optus, and SK Telecom.
Meanwhile, Ericsson’s publicly announced 5G deals include AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile US, US Cellular, Verizon, Swisscom, TDC, Telenor, Vodafone UK, Wind 3, Etisalat, Ooredoo, STC, KT, SK Telecom and Telstra.
During the first quarter, Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group launched its digital platform and its new “Huawei Inside” strategy; the company said that it is “committed to building the foundations of a digital China and the core of a digital world by delivering the digital platform along with ubiquitous connectivity and pervasive intelligence.”
Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group also deployed what it claims to be the world’s first 5G-enabled Wi-Fi 6 access point. As of the end of Q1 2019, Huawei said it had shipped more Wi-Fi 6 products than any other vendor worldwide.
Huawei’s overall revenue for 2018 was CNY 721 billion ($107.4 billion), which represented a 19.5% increase year-on-year.
Profits for full 2018 had amounted to CNY 59.3 billion, up 25% compared to the previous year.
