China's Huawei says its 2021 sales decline but profit up by 76%

Beijing: Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei on Monday said its sales fell but profit rose 76 per cent in 2021, despite US sanctions.

Huawei's chief financial officer was released by Canadian authorities last year, ending a standoff with Washington over the tech giant's dealings with Iran. The company is caught in the middle of tensions with Washington over technology and security.

American officials said Huawei, the biggest maker of network gear for phone carriers, was a security risk that might enable Chinese spying, an accusation the company rejected.

Huawei Technologies Ltd., China's first global tech brand, stepped up its emphasis on serving hospitals, mines and other industrial customers after its smartphone business, once one of the biggest, was crippled by the curbs imposed by Washington on access to US components and other technology in 2019.

The company reported 2021 revenue of 636.8 billion yuan ($99.9 billion), down 28.6 per cent from 2020. It said its profit rose 75.9 per cent to 113.7 billion yuan ($7.8 billion).

Our overall financial resilience is strengthening, the CFO, Meng Wanzhou, said at a news conference at Huawei headquarters in the southern city of Shenzhen. The company is more capable of dealing with uncertainty.