ZTE has raised its estimate for first-half profit, citing better margins and growing 4G orders in its home market China. The equipment maker now expects to report a net profit of CNY 1.00-1.15 billion for the first six months of 2014, versus an estimate at its Q1 report of CNY 0.80-1.00 billion. Both figures are up significantly from the year-earlier period when it reported CNY 310 million in net profit.
ZTE said the better result was due to its continued focus on tighter control of contract profitability, improvement in gross margins on international projects and higher revenues from 4G systems in China. In addition to 4G infrastructure projects with operators such as China Mobile, the company has been rolling out more 4G smartphones. It expects LTE devices to account for 40 percent of total terminals shipped in 2014.
The company is also making headway in the US phone market, noting growth especially in the prepay handset segment. Further growth is expected to come from the recent award of FDD-LTE licences in China and 4G expansion in Japan and India. ZTE said it also expects new opportunities from the ongoing consolidation among European carriers.
The company will release full H1 figures at a later date.
