Huawei’s revenue growth in Q1 loses pace on U.S restrictions and COVID-19

Huawei said on Tuesday that its revenue growth in the first quarter lost pace but the performance, as per the world’s leading supplier for telecoms equipment, was still resilient considering the economic blow from the Coronavirus pandemic and rising pressure from the U.S that is seeking to ban the company from the upcoming global 5G network.

Huawei recorded its first-quarter revenue at £20.76 billion that translates to a 1% quarterly growth. In the same quarter last year, the Chinese multinational technology company had posted a 39% growth. In terms of net profit margin, Huawei printed a 7.3% growth in the recent quarter versus an 8% growth last year.

Huawei Did Not Report Quarterly Net Profit

The world’s 3^rd largest smartphone manufacturer, however, didn’t disclose its quarterly net profit. Vice President of Huawei, Victor Zhang, was reported quoting on Tuesday:

“The growth rate has slowed, but this is also a resilient performance in the face of both the entity list and the coronavirus we are facing at this moment.”

The United States blacklisted Huawei Technologies in May 2019 calling the company an espionage tool for China and raising concerns of national security. Trump Administration also prohibited U.S companies to do business with Huawei last year that resulted in the weakest growth in Huawei’s annual profit in 3 years.

Zhang further added that the impact of the ongoing health crisis on Huawei’s financial performance in the near or long term is currently difficult to estimate. The company didn’t divulge the figure for its total handset shipments in the first quarter.

EU Restricted Huawei From 5G Networks On Cybersecurity Risks

The Vice President also clarified Huawei’s stance regarding the recent mask diplomacy criticism and said that the company didn’t donate protective masks to European countries with an ulterior motive. Huawei only aimed at playing its role in the global battle against COVID-19.

Critics had previously alleged that the smartphone maker’s donation is a tactic to win broader contracts in Europe. The EU recently cited cybersecurity risks as it restricted the company’s role in the upcoming 5G network. Huawei has repeatedly denied all allegations of cybersecurity involving its telecoms equipment.

Sources from the United States recently highlighted that the White House is discussing new measures to further cut Huawei from receiving chips. As per Zhang, however, such restrictions will not be economically viable.