Huawei Posts Sales Growth, Even as Rivals Slump

Huawei Technologies Co. said revenue rose 36% last year to $17 billion, showing the Chinese telecommunications-equipment maker has fared better than most of its Western rivals amid global economic turmoil.

Huawei's strong growth came as telecom-equipment makers around the world are suffering from a slowdown in orders. Nortel Networks Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Canada. Other big Huawei rivals, such as Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent SA, and Cisco Systems Inc., are growing much more slowly than Huawei -- if they are growing at all.

Huawei spokesman Ross Gan said the Chinese company signed contracts worth $23.3 billion in 2008, up 46% from $16 billion in 2007. Huawei's contract sales figures are seen as a rough indicator of its future revenue -- the contracts are recognized as revenue when projects are completed. Mr. Gan said the company's target is to sign $30 billion of contracts in 2009, representing 29% growth.

'Huawei's performance is pretty outstanding within the industry,' said Frederick Wong, a telecom analyst for BNP Paribas based in Hong Kong. 'With their target for next year, the company seems quite confident.'

Globally, telecom equipment vendors have suffered as carriers have sought to cut costs, and the construction of third-generation wireless networks, a boon to vendors previously, has gradually wound down in developed markets. Several companies have predicted that overall industry revenue will shrink this year.

Founded 20 years ago by a retired Chinese army officer, Huawei has grown rapidly in recent years by providing competitive technology at low costs. That has made the company attractive to cost-cutting telecom carriers, Mr. Wong said.

Huawei has had particular success selling its products in developing countries, and, while it has struggled in the important U.S. market, it has recently made inroads into other developed countries. On Wednesday, Huawei won a contract to supply equipment for an advanced 'fourth-generation' mobile network in Oslo, Norway. The bid shows that Huawei has high-end technologies in its portfolio as well as cost competitive ones, Mr. Wong said.

Mr. Gan said that 75% of Huawei's contract sales came from outside of China in 2008, up from 72% in 2007. He declined to give figures for the company's profit, saying it is still being audited. The privately owned company will release full financial figures with its annual report at the end of the first quarter, Mr. Gan said.

华为技术有限公司(Huawei Technologies Co.)称，2008年实现收入170亿美元，比前一年增长了36%，这显示出这家中国电信设备制造商在全球经济风暴中的表现远远好于大多数西方竞争对手。

华为的强劲增长是在全球电信设备厂家纷纷面临订单减少的困境下实现的。北电网络(Nortel Networks Corp.)在美国和加拿大提出了破产保护。华为的其它主要竞争对手，如爱立信(Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson), 阿尔卡特朗讯(Alcatel-Lucent SA)和思科系统(Cisco Systems Inc.)即使仍在增长，它们的增速也远远低于华为。

华为发言人颜光前（Ross Gan）说，华为在2008年签订了价值233亿美元的合同，比2007年的160亿美元增长了46%。华为的合同销售额大致可以作为未来收入的指标，当项目完成的时候合同就被视作收入。颜光前说，华为的目标是2009年签订300亿美元的合同额，比2008年增长29%。

法国巴黎银行(BNP Paribas)驻香港电信分析师黄维杰(Frederick Wong)说，华为的表现在这个行业中相当突出。从它明年的目标中可以看到，华为很有信心。

从全球来看，电信设备供应商的日子并不好过，因为运营商一直在努力削减成本，曾给设备供应商创造巨大收入的第三代无线网络的建设在发达市场中也逐步减少。一些公司预测，整个行业的收入今年将出现萎缩。

一位解放军的退役军官在20年前创建了华为，近些年来，华为通过低价提供富有竞争力的技术而迅速壮大。黄维杰说，这使得公司对削减成本的电信运营商深具吸引力。

华为在发展中国家的产品销售尤为成功，尽管它在重要的美国市场表现不佳，但华为最近却进入了其它发达国家。上周三，华为在挪威首都奥斯陆赢得了供应先进的“第四代”移动网络设备的合约。黄维杰说，投标结果表明，华为在拥有低价产品的同时，也掌握着高端技术。

颜光前说，2008年华为有75%的合同销售额来自境外，高于2007年72%的比例。他拒绝提供有关公司利润的具体数字，称仍在审计之中。他说，这家非上市公司将在第一季度末发布完整的年报数据。