Huawei Doubles Profits in 2023 Despite Strict US Sanctions

On Friday, Huawei posted its 2023 Annual Report, showing it more than doubled its profits despite tougher US sanctions on Chinese tech firms.

The privately owned tech company reported net profits of 86.95 billion yuan ($12.28 billion), 144.52% higher than 35.56 billion yuan ($5.02 billion) the year before. Similarly, revenue accelerated by 9.63% to 704.17 billion yuan ($99.45 billion) from 642.34 billion yuan ($90.72 billion) in 2022.

Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei credited the Guangdong-headquartered conglomerate’s growth to its commitment to research and development (R&D). Every year, it invests over 10.00% of total sales revenue in innovation efforts to maintain its tech lead over competitors.

Zhengfei added that the digital communications firm expanded its R&D efforts following the US sanctions to expand to other markets. He emphasized that Huawei’s research department spent 164.70 billion yuan ($23.26 billion) in 2023, accounting for 23.39% of revenues.

In addition, as of December 31, 2023, the company employed 114,000 individuals in its R&D department, which represents nearly 55.00% of its workforce. As a result, it owned over 140,000 active patents by the end of 2023.

Lastly, Huawei’s Rotating Chairman, Ken Hu, reiterated that the brand’s overall performance last year was in line with expectations. Moreover, Hu pledged that the tech company will continue investing in innovation to help various industries modernize.

US Sanctions Fail to Stop Huawei from Expanding

In recent years, Huawei and other Chinese tech companies have endured expanding US sanctions aimed at slowing their development. The Federal Government insisted that technological advancements in China would pose a considerable threat to America’s national security.

In August 2018, the US banned Huawei equipment from being used in all government-owned and controlled facilities. Nine months later, the Department of Commerce added it to the list of entities US firms cannot do business with without a government license.

According to industry watchers, Huawei was the world’s leading communications equipment company last year, with a market share of 31.30%. It focused on remote markets where US sanctions have no influence, delivering connectivity to 90.00 million people across 80 countries.