Ascend by name, and nature: It was snubbed by the NBN, but Huawei OZ on the up
Our “most successful year” – Huawei Australia said revenues soared 61% to A$368m in 2012 – its best ever result down under.
Huawei Australia’s revenue figure was up from $229m in 2011. A Huawei spokesperson would not break down the revenue figure when contacted by CN.
Its Aussie operation saw 100% revenue growth in its Carrier Business, according to its latest corporate report.
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The Australian Federal government banned Huawei, one of the world’s biggest ICT firms, from working on the NBN last year after fears about spying by Chinese government agencies and cyber security. The US government also has similar concerns.
But, still, the network giant stepped up its investments both here and in Europe. Its founder has links with the Chinese army, but insists its systems are above board.
Huawei’s 2012 global net profit was $2.4bn on revenues of $ 35.3bn last year – its highest ever earnings as its global invasion continues.
“Huawei’s financial performance in 2012 is a reflection of the company’s growth in the Australian market – we’re now working with all major Australian operators and employ over 700 staff in Australia, 85% of which are locals,” said Huawei Australia CFO Luke Austin.
The Chinese giant was so eager for work in OZ that it established a local Board of Directors – its first localised Board anywhere in the world.
Global CEO Mr Ren Zhengfei recently confirmed Aussie profits would be reinvested in the local operation.
‘Watch this space’
When asked about future plans by CN, the company spokesperson alluded to “more exciting products in the pipeline” in 2013, hinting at the Ascend P2 – the “fastest smartphone in the world” debuted at CES, and ‘D2’ which has a potent quad core processor.
Earlier this year, it launched 6.1″ Huawei Mate, phablet here.
However, the company rep would not confirm anything, saying “watch this space”.
Analyst figures from Canalyst show the Chinese mobile giant is now among the top 5 smartphone makers globally (under 5% share), and grew a whopping 84% in its home country alone.
The snub by the Federal government came after lengthy discussions over two years between the company and the Attorney General’s office, Huawei Australia’s chairman John Lord said last year.
“We were told then that – at this time that the Government could not see a role for us in NBN,” he said.
