ZTE's 2017 balance sheet may turn black
ZTE Corp said its 2017 balance sheet is to turn black from red, thanks to growing business in 5G network construction and development as well as growth in mobile phone business, China’s biggest public telecommunications equipment maker said today.
ZTE expected a net profit of 4.55 biliion yuan (US$720 million) in 2017, compared with a loss of 2.36 billion yuan in the previous year, when it paid a US$892 million to US government to settle penalties for its violation of trade sanctions, the Shenzhen-listed company said in a statement today.
Shares of ZTE surged 2.89 percent to close at 28.82 yuan today, compared with 0.56 percent growth of the Shenzhen stock index. The dual listed ZTE also jumped 3.95 percent today in Hong Kong.
The business rebounded in 2017 due to booming overseas sales while domestic government and enterprise business remained stable, ZTE said in the statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
The company also planned to raise about 13 billion yuan through private placement, which will mainly be used to invest on 5G research and development, the company said on Weneday.
About 90 percent of ZTE’s smartphone business income now comes from overseas markets including the United States. In 2018, ZTE plans to expand both domestic and overseas markets with “breakthrough” innovation”, Cheng Lixin, ZTE’s CEO of mobile business, said during an interview last month.