China's Huawei says sales down by 52% but new ventures growing

Huawei, headquartered in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, has stepped up the development of network technology for autos, hospitals, mines and manufacturing. It says that is now less vulnerable to US sanctions.

"While our device business was heavily impacted, our ICT infrastructure business maintained steady growth," Ken Hu, one of three executives who take turns as chairman, said in a written statement.

The first-half sales decline was an improvement over a 14 percent drop reported for the first three months of the year. The profit margin was wider than the first quarter at 4.3 percent.

Sales by Huawei's device unit, which includes smartphones, fell 25.3 percent from a year earlier to 101.3 billion yuan ($15 billion). Sales of network equipment to telecom carriers and companies rose.

Huawei reported a 113.7 billion yuan ($17.8 billion) profit last year but said revenue plunged 28.6 percent from 2020.

Its auto venture has played a role in five models released by three Chinese automakers. Huawei supplies components and software for navigation, dashboard displays, managing vehicle systems and other services.

Huawei, founded in 1987, says it is owned by Chinese citizens who make up half of its global workforce of 195,000. It started announcing financial results a decade ago in an effort to defuse Western security concerns about the company.

Huawei also expressed concern about a new US law, the CHIPS and Science Act, which promises aid to companies that invest in processor chip production in the United States. It is intended to reduce US reliance on Taiwan, which produces most of the world's high-end chips, and China, which assembles most smartphones and other electronics.

Any measure that reduces global industry collaboration will greatly hinder scientific and technological innovation, Huawei said in a statement.