Huawei revenue surges 18% but U.S pressure signals challenging times ahead

World’s biggest maker of telecom network equipment, Huawei shrugged off a challenging operating environment in the U.S and Western markets as full year revenue surged 18percent to 850 billion yuan ($121.72 billion) a slight increase from 2018’s 19.5 per cent growth rate.

It has been a difficult year for the second largest manufacturer of smartphones, following a ban by the U.S from doing business with U.S companies, preventing its access to technology such as Google’s android operating system.

In defence of its action, the US government alleges that Huawei equipment pose national security risks because they could be used by the Chinese government to spy on users. A claim Huawei has repeatedly denied.

In his New Year message addressed to employees, Huawei’s chairman Eric Xu said survival would be the company’s priority next year just as the US government was in the midst of a “strategic and long-term” campaign against the company that would create a “challenging environment for Huawei to survive and thrive

The chairman also played down expectations for 2020, saying the company would not grow as rapidly. “It’s going to be a difficult year for us,” he wrote, adding that Huawei would remain on the US list of sanctioned companies.

Huawei announced that it shipped 240m smartphones in 2019, up from 206m the previous year. Analysts warn that the company faces its toughest challenge in the overseas smartphone market, where Huawei’s new phones are sold without access to the Google Play app store because of US sanctions.

Huawei was dragged into the spotlight a year ago when the founder’s daughter and a senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Canada at the request of the United State.

European telecommunications operators including Norway’s Telenor and Sweden’s Telia have also passed over Huawei as a supplier for their 5G networks as intelligence agencies warned against working with them.

Australia and Japan have meanwhile taken steps to block or tightly restrict the firm’s participation in their rollouts of 5G networks.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson also strongly hinted that Britain would follow suit.

Chinese law requires individuals and organisations to assist and cooperate with national intelligence efforts.

Xu also said cybersecurity and user privacy were at the “absolute top” of Huawei’s agenda, and that the company would “continue to adhere to all related laws and regulations in the markets where we operate”.