Huawei Says 2021 Revenues Down Almost 30 Percent Due to US Sanctions, Sees Challenges Ahead

Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies battered by US sanctions, expects 2021 revenue to have declined nearly 30 percent and predicted continued challenges in the New Year. Revenue for the year is expected to be CNY 634 billion (roughly Rs. 739479.606 crore), rotating chairman Guo Ping said in a New Year letter to employees on Friday.

That represents a fall of 28.9 percent from 2020 revenues of CNY 891.4 billion (roughly Rs. 1039453.517 crore).

Guo said next year "will come with its fair share of challenges" but that he was satisfied with Huawei's 2021 business performance. "An unpredictable business environment, the politicisation of technology, and a growing deglobalisation movement all present serious challenges," the letter, published on the company's website, read.

In 2019, the US Trump administration imposed a trade ban on Huawei, citing national security, which barred the company from using Alphabet's Android for its new smartphones, among other critical US-origin technology.

The US sanctions, together with weaker domestic consumption due to the coronavirus, weighed on Huawei.

"We need to stick to our strategy and respond rationally to external forces that are beyond our control," Guo said.

Huawei will continue focusing on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, the letter said. Third-quarter revenue fell 38 percent compared with a year earlier, Huawei's latest earnings report shows. The first three quarters' revenue was down by almost a third year-on-year.

© Thomson Reuters 2021