Huawei Technologies Co’s revenue grew for the seventh straight quarter after its smartphones enjoyed sustained demand in China at Apple Inc’s expense.
The Shenzhen-based telecommunications giant posted sales of 168.4 billion yuan ($31.3 billion) in the September quarter, up 15.6% from a year earlier, according to calculations based on its parent’s nine-month financial figures posted on the Shanghai Clearing House’s website. The filing did not offer a breakdown on contributions from different business units.
Net profit was 7.79 billion yuan, down 70.5%, a sign that the company may be struggling with its chipmaking yield as the US has repeatedly cast doubt on China’s ability to make advanced 7-nanometer chips at scale.
Huawei’s handset shipments grew 42% in the July-September period, according to market tracker IDC. Apple saw a slight drop of 0.3% although it managed to bounce back to be a top-five smartphone brand with the rollout of iPhone 16.
Huawei grows smartphone market share in China while Apple falters | The Shenzhen firm's business is buoyed by self-designed, China-made chips
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The Shenzhen company may also have benefited from Beijing’s nudging local firms earlier this year to use more domestic alternatives to Nvidia Corp’s AI acclerators, to mitigate Washington’s efforts to limit China’s access to the most cutting-edge silicon and boost the Asian nation’s self-sufficiency drive.
In addition to its chip and smartphone ambitions, Huawei is also venturing into the EV field with some success. It is offering software including autonomous driving to electric vehicle makers including BYD Co. Huawei’s automotive solutions business is expected to make a profit in 2024, then-rotating chairman Eric Xu told Chinese media in an interview in September.
Its automotive subsidiary, Yinwang Smart Technology, saw its valuation grow to 115 billion yuan earlier this year after Avatr Technology paid 11.5 billion yuan for a 10% stake.
