Huawei CEO plans PR push, estimates 15% rise in 2014 revenue

Huawei rotating CEO Ken Hu said the company will step up its efforts to assure governments of the security of its operations, as he revealed the Chinese vendor's 2014 sales are likely to be 15 per cent higher than in 2013.

Ken Hu, Huawei rotating CEO

Ken Hu, Huawei rotating CEO

Hu said Huawei benefitted from growth in the broader ICT industry through 2014, and increased deployments of 4G (LTE) networks during the year. The company also benefitted from groing interest in technologies including cloud computing, Big Data and the internet of things (IoT), and from rising sales of its mobile devices.

The rotating CEO said revenue for the year is likely to reach $46 billion (€38.6 billion) and hinted there is more to come in 2015 as the technologies mentioned above become "the engine that drives transformations in many industries."

In a New Year message, Hu also hailed the success of Huawei as a global company, and pledged to work more closely with governments and press to communicate the benefits of its localisation strategy.

"Our localised operations will enable us to contribute to socioeconomic development by creating jobs and paying taxes in the countries and regions where we operate," Hu stated, adding: "Our operations must comply with all local laws and regulations. We will strengthen communication with external stakeholders, including governments and the media, so they will understand that Huawei is a steady and responsible corporate citizen, an innovative enabler for the information society, and a collaborative industry contributor."

Huawei's global progress has been dogged by security concerns following allegations it has close links to China's government. While those concerns have led to Huawei all but abandoning its efforts to crack the U.S. market, the company continues to make good progress in Europe, winning several new contracts with operators in the region in 2014 and detailing plans to increase its procurement spending from an estimated $3.7 billion in 2014 to $4.08 billion in 2015.

According to Hu, industries including smart transportation, telemedicine, online education and smart cities "are all examples of how traditional industries are relying on ICT for the next round of evolution." That interest from traditional industries will spur the number of global connections to 100 billion by 2025 "creating a market of unprecedented scale," Hu predicted.

While the rotating CEO said Huawei smartphones "have become market leaders in multiple countries," Reuters reported that smartphone sales fell short of the company's target for 2014 despite growing 40 per cent year on year.

For more:
- read Ken Hu's New Year message
- view this Reuters article

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