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Huawei Says Its Smartphone Revenue Grew by One-Third
Telecom Equipment Maker Estimates 2014 Smartphone Revenue Exceeded $11.8 Billion

By GILLIAN WONG
Dec. 31, 2014 7:12 a.m. ET

HONG KONG—Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co. estimated that its smartphone revenue grew about 30% this year, exceeding $11.8 billion.

In a letter to staff, Huawei’s consumer-business group head Richard Yu said smartphone shipments this year reached more than 75 million units, up 40% from a year earlier.

That is still short of Huawei’s initial target of selling 80 million mobile phones, which would have been an increase of 54% from last year.

Huawei had earlier this year predicted such robust sales, and Senior Vice President Chen Lifang reiterated the goals at the WSJD Live global technology conference in October.

Huawei’s smartphones have little presence in the U.S., but the company has been growing rapidly in other parts of the world, especially in emerging markets.

The memo said the Middle East, northern Latin America and Southeast Asia led Huawei’s smartphone sales growth in regions outside of China.

The figures confirm Huawei’s strong performance in smartphones, but the closely held company doesn’t disclose the profitability of each business unit, which makes defining the drivers of its earnings growth more opaque.

China, which accounts for one-third of Huawei’s revenue, is a significant growth engine for the company. Huawei’s revenue in China rose 14% in 2013 as smartphone sales increased, it said earlier.