The leading Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei announced on Monday that its profits dropped by 28 percent in the previous year due to global economic instability and sluggish domestic consumer spending.
A firm based in Shenzhen has become the focal point of a significant conflict between China and the United States following warnings from Washington that its gear might potentially be employed for spying by the Chinese administration, which Huawei refutes.
Since 2019, sanctions have restricted the company's ability to obtain US-produced parts and technology, compelling it to expand its development strategies in different directions.
The company announced Monday that it made a net profit of 62.6 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) last year, down from 87 billion yuan in 2023.
The revenue increased by 22 percent compared to the previous year, indicating a continuous growth for the third time in a row following a significant decline in 2021 due to the pandemic.
The company reported revenues of 862.1 billion yuan, marking the highest earnings since the figure exceeded 890 billion yuan in 2020.
The outcomes were "consistent with expectations," according to a statement made by the company’s revolving chairman, Sabrina Meng.
Meng stated that employees have joined forces to address various external challenges, and he also mentioned that the company remains steadfast in pursuing its quality objectives and intends to continuously sharpen quality as a distinguishing factor.
Since 2019, US sanctions have isolated Huawei from global supply chains for technology and US-manufactured components, which significantly disrupted its smartphone manufacturing capabilities at first.
Last year, the company unveiled its first smartphone equipped with a fully homegrown operating system, a test of its ability to challenge the dominance of Western juggernauts.
The company unveiled the globe's premier triple-fold smartphone shortly after its American competitor, Apple, revealed their latest iPhone model.
Apple remains popular among Chinese consumers but has ceded ground to domestic players such as Huawei in recent years.
Huawei remains one of the world's leading equipment manufacturers for 5G, the fifth generation of mobile internet, and has been involved in infrastructure projects in numerous countries.
The U.S. has been trying to persuade its partners to exclude Huawei from their 5G infrastructure, claiming that China might leverage the company’s technology for surveillance purposes and to intercept communication and data flow.
The firm is also facing heightened scrutiny in Europe over a new cash-for-influence probe in the EU parliament.
Offices were sealed and five people charged this month over suspicions that members of parliament were bribed to sway sensitive EU policies in favour of the tech giant.
Lawmakers are to confront the Huawei allegations at a debate Monday on "transparency and anticorruption policies in the EU", which is expected to see calls for tougher action.
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