Chinese tech giant Huawei reports sales, profit up despite US sanctions

abcnews.go.com:

Chinese tech giant Huawei says its revenue rose 3% over a year earlier and its profit margin widened in the first half of 2023 despite sanctions that limit its access to U.S. processor chips

BEIJING — Chinese tech giant Huawei on Friday reported its revenue rose 3% over a year earlier in the first half of 2023 and its profit margin widened despite sanctions that block access to U.S. processor chips and other technology.

China's first global tech brand has responded to U.S. curbs that devastated its smartphone brand by increasing emphasis on selling network gear to hospitals, ports, electric car brands and other industrial customers it believes will be less vulnerable to sanctions.

Revenue in the six months ending in June rose 3.1% to 310.9 billion yuan ($43.1 billion), Huawei Technologies Ltd. said. It gave no profit figure but said its profit margin was 15%, which would be about 45 billion yuan ($6.5 billion) and an increase over the 4.3% margin in the first quarter of this year.

Sales by its infrastructure unit were 167.2 billion yuan ($23.2 billion), according to Huawei. Consumer sales were 103.5 billion yuan ($14.3 billion). Sales by the fledgling automotive unit, which supplies network and other technology for electric cars, were 1 billion yuan ($138.6 billion).

Huawei struggled after then-President Donald Trump cut off access to U.S. processor chips and other technology in a feud with Beijing over technology and security. American officials say the company is a security risk and might facilitate Chinese spying, which Huawei denies.

In 2020, then-chairman Eric Xu said the company was “back to business as usual” despite sanctions.

The company is the biggest global maker of network equipment for phone and internet