Huawei Sees ‘Difficulties’ Ahead As Revenues Surge

China’s Huawei said its revenue jumped 23 percent in the first half of the year in spite of being blacklisted by the US, but warned there were “difficulties” coming.

The US blacklist came in May, toward the end of the company’s reporting period, so that its impact is not fully visible in the latest figures.

The move meant US firms could not sell parts or services to Huawei, but the US government has now said it plans to issue licenses allowing companies to do so.

Huawei’s revenues for the first half of the year rose 23 percent year-on-year, with smartphone shipments rising 24 percent.

‘Difficulties ahead’

The company sold 118 million smartphones during the period, with 59 million sold each quarter.

“Given the foundation we laid in the first half of the year, we continue to see growth even after we were added to the entity list,” said Huawei chairman Liang Hua in a statement.

“That’s not to say we don’t have difficulties ahead. We do, and they may affect the pace of our growth in the short term.”

The US has pressured its allies to ban Huawei from their 5G rollouts, but Huawei reported strong 5G sales thus far.

5G sales

It said it had secured 50 commercial 5G contracts around the world and shipped more than 150,000 next-generation base stations.

In June Huawei said it expects the US blacklist to reduce annual revenues by up to $30 billion (£24.9bn).

Canalys said in a new report that Huawei’s sales in China in the most recent quarter grew 31 percent year-on-year, even as the overall market shrank by 6 percent.

The company’s growth came at the expense of competitors including Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Apple, all of which showed double-digit declines in China for the quarter.

China accounted for 64 percent of Huawei’s shipments, the highest proportion since 2013, Canalys said.