Huawei revenues soar as 5G, smartphones drive growth

The Chinese tech giant said in its annual report released on Monday that growth was driven by strong performance in its telecommunications and consumer electronics segments.

But net profits fell by 28% to 62.6 billion yuan, with the company attributing the decline to increased spending on research and development.

"In 2024 the entire team at Huawei banded together to tackle a wide range of external challenges while further improving product quality, operations quality and operational efficiency," rotating chairwoman Meng Wanzhou said.

Huawei logo displayed at the Mobile World Congress in Spain, February 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Luu Quy

Huawei said the large-scale rollout of next-generation 5G networks was a key driver of growth. The company noted that 2024 also marked the first commercial deployment of 5.5G, or "5G Advanced," which further supported sales.

The consumer division saw a sharp recovery, with revenues rising by 38.3% to 339 billion yuan.

The rebound was led by renewed momentum in the smartphone business.

Once the world’s largest smartphone vendor, Huawei saw its handset sales decline sharply in recent years due to U.S. sanctions that blocked access to advanced chips and Google services.

But a domestic semiconductor breakthrough in late 2023 enabled the company to launch new high-end models that performed strongly in the Chinese market, according to U.S. news network CNBC.

Data from Canalys shows Huawei’s smartphone sales in China rose by 37% in 2024, and market share from 12% to 16%.

To reduce its reliance on traditional sectors, Huawei has expanded into digital power and energy infrastructure, including electric vehicles and renewables.