Huawei's profit rises 28 percent in 2017

Huawei Technologies posted a 28 percent growth in net profit last year thanks to booming smartphone business and steady operator business.

The net profit of Huawei reached 47.5 billion yuan (US$7.42 billion) in 2017, with the growth rate much faster than the 9.1 percent increase a year earlier. Its revenue was 603.6 billion yuan, up 15.7 percent from a year ago, said Huawei in its business report. 

Smartphone business, which generated a revenue of 237.2 billion yuan, was one of the spotlights. The company sold 153 million smartphones globally -- making it the No. 1 Chinese brand of smartphone and the world's top 3 only behind Apple and Samsung.

Artificial intelligence, 5G, cloud computing and the Internet of Things will become major business catalysts for Huawei in 2018, which aims to establish “an intelligent world connecting all people and all devices”, said Shenzhen-listed Huawei.

Huawei is expected to lead in the global telecommunications equipment market in 5G era, analysts said.

Huawei sold 32 percent of global mobile radio access gear - antennas and base stations - in the last quarter, against Ericsson's 30 percent and Nokia's 25 percent, according to market research firm Dell’Oro.

The research spending of Huawei reached 89.7 billion yuan in 2017, 17.4 percent growth year-on-year, ranking the No. 1 in China.