SHENZHEN-BASED Huawei Technologies Co. is “back on track” after its revenue surged 9% in 2023 despite continuing U.S. sanctions, capping a dramatic year for the tech giant.

The conglomerate said Friday it expects to bring in more than 700 billion yuan (US$99 billion) in revenue in 2023, thanks to a resurgent smartphone business and robust 5G equipment sales.

The figure indicates around 9% year-on-year revenue growth from the 642.3 billion yuan reported in 2022. It is, however, still below the approximate US$123 billion Huawei logged in 2019.

The figure offers further evidence that Huawei is rebounding after U.S. sanctions starting in 2019 crippled some of its business lines by restricting access to critical global technologies such as advanced chips.

“Thanks to our partners across the value chain for standing with us through thick and thin. And I’d also like to thank every member of the Huawei team for embracing the struggle — for never giving up,” Huawei’s rotating chairman, Ken Hu, said in a year-end message to employees.

“After years of hard work, we’ve managed to weather the storm. And now we’re pretty much back on track,” Hu said.

Hu said Huawei’s device business segment, which includes its smartphone business, had performed better than expected in 2023.

Huawei made a splash in 2023 after releasing a smartphone with a sophisticated made-in-China 7-nanometre Kirin processor, celebrated across the country over restrictions by the United States to restrict China’s access to foreign chips.

The release was widely viewed as marking Huawei’s comeback into the high-end smartphone market after years under U.S. sanctions.

The smartphone has been eagerly embraced by consumers, and has allowed Huawei to snatch market share away from Apple in China, according to Counterpoint Research.

Huawei ranked fifth in the Chinese market as of the end of September, growing its share from 10% in the first quarter to 14% in the third quarter.

Apple, meanwhile, saw its slice of the pie shrink from 20% to 15% in the same period.

Looking ahead to 2024, Huawei said the device business would be one of the major business lines it would focus on for expansion.

(SD-Agencies)