Huawei Expects $98.5B Revenue in 2023, Reinforcing Recovery

Chinese smartphone maker Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. provided a more optimistic revenue outlook for 2023 on Friday, further signaling the company’s recovery.

Shenzhen-based Huawei estimated its revenue for this year at CN¥700 billion ($98.5 billion), representing a 9% year-over-year increase from the CN¥642.3 billion ($92.4 billion) posted in 2022, with robust performance from its electronics business contributing to the higher guidance.

However, the forecast remained below the CN¥858.8 billion ($123 billion) revenue generated in 2019, when the US’s blacklisting struck the tech giant’s business.

Huawei’s Recovery and Return to High-End Smartphone Market

Huawei’s latest revenue outlook further reinforced the view that the company is bouncing back after US sanctions that began about four years earlier weighed several of its business lines by keeping it from accessing critical overseas technologies such as advanced chips.

The firm’s rotating chairman, Ken Hu, said they were pretty much ‘back on track’ and had managed to survive the tough times following years of diligent labor.

The forecast also came after the release of the Huawei Mate 60 series in August, which left industry experts puzzled at how the company sourced the necessary technology to build such an advanced device following the US’s restrictions.

The smartphone line was believed to be equipped with chips built in China.

The launch was seen as Huawei’s return to the high-end smartphone market after years of being held by US sanctions.

Data from a global tech market research group showed that the company’s smartphone shipments rose 83% year-on-year in October, driving China’s overall smartphone market growth 11% higher in the same period.

Hu stated that their device business division, which includes its smartphone business, had fared better than anticipated in 2023. The firm aims to expand the segment to ramp up efforts to create quality products and high-end brands with a ‘human touch.’

Still, Huawei faced significant hurdles, including geopolitical and economic uncertainties, while tech prohibitions and trade obstacles continue to have a global impact.

The smartphone maker plans to increase the efficiency of its business operations to address such challenges by restructuring HQ, simplifying management, and ensuring reliable policy while making changes where necessary.