(Huawei vows ensuring sustainable survival, development)
BY DARGIE KAHSAY
The Chinese-based global technology company, Huawei, briefed journalists its 2022 annual performance report on Friday 31st of March 2023 from its headquarter Shenzhen, China. The Ethiopian Herald attended Huawei’s annual report press conference through online from Ethiopia.
Huawei, the Chinese based global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices founded in 1987, is operating across 170 countries globally serving over three billion people. The company is also operating across 53 African countries.
Huawei during the press briefing stated that its presence and expansion across the globe is growing though facing different external and non-market related challenges. The company is working to advance world’s ICT infrastructure and accelerating digitalization. It gives due emphasis for new innovations, technological advancements and sustainable development by focusing on research and development in the sector.
During its 2022 annual report press conference, the company announced that by performing steady operations throughout the 2022 budget year, it has generated 642.3 billion Chinese Yuan (CNY) revenues. It further stated that the net profit of the company during the same year was CNY 35.6 billion.
The company reiterated that it continues to strengthen investment in research and development (R&D) so as to expand its investments, to sustain its survival and future development of the company. Huawei invests an annual expenditure of CNY161.5 billion in 2022 for R and D, representing 25.1% of the company’s annual revenue, the company reported adding that the company’s total R&D expenditure over the past 10 years exceeds CNY977.3 billion.
Targeting to innovate new technological advancements, introducing new digital technologies and advancing the technological developments to accelerate world’s digitalization, every year, Huawei is investing over 10 percent of its annual sales revenue to research and development (R and D), according to the company’s press statement.
“The world is increasingly adopting digital technology. And as this trend gains steam, we’re innovating nonstop to bring the best of digital technology and services to organizations of all shapes and sizes,” it stated.
Speaking at the press conference, Huawei’s Rotating Chairman, Eric Xu said that Huawei is working to ensure sustainable survival and development in 2023. For this purpose, it invests in research and development so as to innovate and advance the technologies in the ICT sector. “We are working on business sustainability and ensuring supply continuity,” he added.
“In 2022, a challenging external environment and non-market factors continued to take a toll on Huawei’s operations”, Xu said during the company’s annual report press conference. “In the midst of this storm, we kept racing ahead, doing everything in our power to maintain business continuity and serve our customers. We also went to great lengths to grow the harvest – generating a steady stream of revenue to sustain our survival and lay the groundwork for future development,” the Rotating Chairman added.
The company’s report revealed that Huawei has continued to strengthen investments in Research and Development (R and D) to sustain its business development and to contribute for the development of the ICT infrastructure with latest and modern technological advancements.
According to the statement, Huawei is committedly striving to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. “Together, we’re laying the foundations for the digital economy and helping all industries go digital.”
On her part, Huawei’s Chief Finance Officer (CFO), Sabrina Meng said during the press conference event that though the company faced different challenges in 2022, its overall business outcomes were almost in line with the plans of the company.
“Despite substantial pressure in 2022, our overall business results were in line with forecast. At the end of 2022, our liability ratio was 58.9% and our net cash balance was CNY176.3 billion. In addition, our balance of total assets reached one trillion Yuan, largely composed of current assets such as cash, short-term investments, and operating assets,” the CFO said.
According to Sevrina the financial position of the company remains solid, with strong resilience and flexibility. In 2022, the total R&D spends of Huawei was CNY161.5 billion, representing 25.1 percent of the total revenue of the company, which is among the highest in Huawei’s history, Sebrina said adding that “In times of pressure, we press on with confidence.”
A press statement by Huawei stated that the company is promoting growing together with its ecosystem partners with strong belief of openness and collaboration lead to shared success. “The company has continued to open up its platform capabilities across its Harmony OS, Kunpeng, Ascend, and cloud portfolio, focusing on improving developer experience as well as enabling and supporting its ecosystem partners on all fronts” the statement disclosed.
Huawei currently works with more than nine million developers and over 40,000 ecosystem partners across the world to fuel ecosystem-based innovation and create greater value for its customers. Huawei announced that its investment would continue to ensure its business sustainability and to build resilient business with the available ecosystem in the future even within different challenges.
During the briefing Xu noted that “2023 will be crucial to Huawei’s sustainable survival and development.” “Plum blossoms tend to grow sweeter from a harsh winter’s freeze. Today, Huawei is like a plum blossom. While it’s true that we have considerable pressure ahead of us, we have what it takes to come out the other end – with opportunities to grow, a resilient business portfolio, a unique competitive edge, the enduring trust of our customers and partners, and the courage to invest heavily in R&D.”
Huawei is confident in its ability to rise above any challenge that comes from any direction, and is working to lay a solid foundation for sustainable survival and development with the available ecosystem. According to the company, the ICT infrastructure is in continuous evolution and the world is working to move from the 5G era towards the 5.5G era.
In the near future, individuals, homes and industries are expected to pose higher requirements on ICT infrastructure. Hence, in order to meet the requirements for digital and intelligent transformation by industries, it is crucial to offer highly-reliable carrier networks.
“In July 2022, in a bid to drive the continuous evolution of ICT infrastructure, Huawei launched the “Lighting up the 5.5G Era” initiative, joining hands with industries to move from the 5G era to an even more thriving 5.5G era. The ICT network infrastructure of the 5.5G era includes 5.5G, 5.5G Core, F5.5G, and Net5.5G. There is no doubt that 5.5G is the path towards the intelligent world of 2030,” Huawei stated in its annual report.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 7 APRIL 2023
