Huawei expects the US ban on doing business with the company could take around USD 30 billion off sales this year. CEO Ren Zhengfei said at a meeting at the company's headquarters in Shenzen that Huawei had been hit harder than expected by the US government actions and lowered the sales outlook for this year and next.
"We did not expect they would attack us on so many aspects," Ren said. "We cannot get components supply, cannot participate in many international organizations, cannot work closely with many universities, cannot use anything with US components, and cannot even establish connection with networks that use such components."
As a result the company expects revenues of around USD 100 billion this year, down from its previous target of USD 125-130 billion. That compares to a reported CNY 721 billion (USD 104 billion) in 2018. Ren said he expects a similar figure of around USD 100 billion in 2020, before a recovery in 2021.
Smartphone shipments down 40%
Huawei’s smartphone sales have hit already by the uncertainty. Ren said the firm’s international smartphone shipments plunged 40 percent. While he did not give the time period, a spokesman clarified the CEO was referring to the past month.
This is in line with an earlier report from Bloomberg that said Huawei is preparing for a 40-60 percent fall in international smartphone shipments this year. In 2018, these shipments accounted for almost half of the 206 million smartphones sold.
No Honor 20?
Huawei also could stop its introduction of the Honor 20, presented in May, on the back of the US ban, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The company is looking at ways of mitigating the effects of the ban on its smartphone sales.
