Huawei's 2019 revenue to jump 18%, forecasts 'difficult' 2020

Huawei Technologies on Tuesday said its full-yearrevenuewould likelyjump18 per centin2019to $122 billion, lower than its earlier projections, as a UStrade blacklisting curbed growth and disrupted its ability to source key parts.

The world's biggest maker of telecom network equipment and the numbertwomanufacturer of smartphones was all but banned by the United States in May from doing business with UScompanies, preventing its access to technology like Google's Android operating system.

The USgovernment alleges Huawei equipment poses national security risks because it could be used by the Chinese government to spy on users. Huawei has repeatedly denied its products are a security threat.

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Huawei'sRotating Chairman Eric Xu revealed the numbers in a New Year's message to employees and customers in which he also forecasted2020to be a "difficult year', saying that the firm was unlikely to grow as rapidly as it did in the first half of this year.

Its estimate of18 per centrevenuegrowth in2019is less than in 2018 whenHuawei'sannualrevenuerose 19.5 per cent.

The company did not break down fourth-quarter figures but according to calculations based on its previous statements,revenuein the quarter to end December31 rose to $23.28 billion, up 3.9 per centfrom a year earlier and slower than the 27 per centincrease it reported in the third quarter.

"The external environment is becoming more complicated than ever, and downward pressure on the global economy has intensified," he said.

"In the long term, the US government will continue to suppress the development of leading technology – a challenging environment for Huawei to survive and thrive."

Xu also said that Huawei shipped 240 million smartphones this year, a 20 per centincrease from 2018. Huawei has mainly sold smartphones that were launched before the ban.

The newest Mate 30 smartphone first went on sale in September but it cannot access a licensed version of Google's Android operating system because of the trade curbs.

Xu said in his letter that Huawei would in2020"go all out" to build its Huawei Mobile Services ecosystem, which comprises services such as cloud storage and an app gallery, describing it as "the foundation of our ability to sell smart devices in markets outside China".

It is also developing its own mobile operating system known as Harmony, although analysts are skeptical that the system is a viable alternative.

Huawei'sreputation was dented earlier this month after details of the dismissal and wrongful detention of a former employee went viral.

In his letter, Xu said they would continue to remove mediocre managers and complacent employees as Huawei needed to rid the company of complacency, and that they would remove managers performing in the bottom 10% every year.