Huawei business grows despite challenges

Huawei's smartphone business continued to grow in the first quarter, despite of the US tech lockdown and the COVID-19 outbreak, the company said on Thursday. 

The company is establishing its own ecosystem with newly launched products. They included a new P40 smartphone with improved camera features, a new-tech charger, high-definition map services, smart screen TV and an automotive connected system.

Huawei’s business “slightly grew” globally in the first quarter, while the industry was facing a slump, said Richard Yu, president of Huawei’s consumer business group.

Yu said Huawei’s smartphone business had dropped in the overseas markets, facing challenges such as the COVID-19 outbreak and the ban on Google offering services for Huawei’s devices. But business in China “recovered rapidly,” Yu said. 

Consumer business, including smartphone and various smart devices, contributed the biggest portion of the company’s total revenue in 2019. Its consumer business reached 467.3 billion yuan (US$66.8 billion), up 34 percent year on year. The company sold 240 million smartphones last year.

Huawei’s P40 smartphone has a starting price of 4,188 yuan.