Huawei's revenue growth slowed in April compared to the first quarter and may continue decreasing in the course of this year in the wake of a US ban on doing business with the Chinese company, founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei said. Huawei will continue to try and work with US companies and partners elsewhere in the world, and has built up its own capacity to weather the ban, he said in comments distributed to the media.
Ren acknowledged that growth will slow, "though not by as much as everyone imagines". In the first quarter of 2019, the company posted revenue up 39 percent year-on-year, and this slowed to 25 percent growth in April. While the rate may fall further after the US put the company on a blacklist, "the US ban will not lead to negative growth or harm the development of our industry", Ren said.
Huawei's inclusion on the so-called Entity List in the US means any US-based companies must seek a license from the Commerce Department to do business with Huawei. Ren said the company will continue to buy from US firms that can obtain such licences, and highlighted the many suppliers it has from the US, "that have helped us to grow into what we are today".
If the company is unable to source from US partners, it sees opportunities elsewhere. "Our company will not end up with an extreme supply shortage. We have got well prepared. Even if there is an insufficient supply from our partners, we will face no problems. This is because we can manufacture all the high-end chips we need ourselves," said Ren.
The Huawei founder furthermore said he did not expect Europe to follow the US's lead and the company remains in close contact with its US partners. "We will certainly be able to continue serving our customers. Our mass production capacity is huge, and adding Huawei to the Entity List won't have a huge impact on us. We are making progress in bidding worldwide."
Ren added that he does not see a major impact on Huawei's lead in 5G technology. "Not just that, but Huawei competitors won't be able to catch up with it within two to three years," he said. According to Ren, Huawei's carrier networks business is the one area where it has the potential to be number-one in the world and this is likely why it has come under attack from the US. "We are very advanced, and our customers will realize this if they start using our services."
