U.S. sanctions put a damper on Huawei's growth

Huawei's quarterly revenue growth expanded at a slower rate due to U.S. sanctions and the impact of Covid-19 on its consumer sector.

For the first three quarters of this year, Huawei generated $98.57 billion in revenue, which was an increase of 9.9% over the same period last year. By contrast, Huawei's revenue growth was 24% in the first nine months of last year.

Revenue for the September quarter came in at 217.3 billion yuan ($31.91 billion), which marked a 3.7% increase from the 209.5 billion yuan recorded in the same period last year.

Huawei's net profit margin for the period was 8% compared to 9.2% in the first two quarters of this year and down from 8.7% in the same period a year ago.

Throughout the first three quarters of 2020, Huawei's business results "basically met expectations," the China-based vendor said in a press release on Friday.

"As the world grapples with COVID-19, Huawei's global supply chain is being put under intense pressure and its production and operations face significant challenges," according to the press release. "The company continues to do its best to find solutions, survive and forge forward, and fulfill its obligations to customers and suppliers."

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In its press release, Huawei didn't mention the sanctions that the Trump Administration placed on the company. Citing national security concerns, Huawei was placed on the U.S. export blacklist, which is called the Entity List, last year. In June, the FCC formally designated Huawei and ZTE as threats to U.S. national security due to their close ties to the Chinese government. Huawei has denied that its telecoms gear providers a "back door" for the Chinese government.

U.S. sanctions against shipments of semiconductors and other equipment needed for smartphones and 5G services went into effect last month. Huawei has attempted to stockpile the components, such as radio chips, that it needs for the 5G deployments in China.

Various countries have banned the use of Huawei's 5G gear in their service providers' network. On the plus side, Huawei has benefited from large-scale 5G rollouts in China.

Going forward, Huawei said it would focus on providing AI, cloud, 5G and computing to its business customers and "will continue working closely with its global partners and using its innovative ICT technologies to create greater value for customers despite the complex situation it is currently facing."

Huawei didn't provide a breakdown of its various sectors in Friday's press release.