By Juan Pedro Tomás

Chinese vendor ZTE Corporation has reported a full-year revenue of CNY 114.5 billion (US$18.2 billion) in 2021, an increase of 12.9 per cent compared to the previous year.

According to ZTE’s results, net profit attributable to holders of ordinary shares of the listed company reached CNY 6.8 billion, up 59.9 per cent year-over-year. During the period, ZTE’s net cash flow from operating activities was CNY 15.7 billion, a surge of 53.7 per cent compared to 2020.

“During the year, the company, although confronted with the global COVID-19 pandemic and complex external environment, kept solidifying its position with innovative initiatives while maintaining steady operations. While consolidating the company’s core competitiveness, ZTE furthered its digital transformation and continued to expand its capability and transaction boundaries,” ZTE said.

“During the period, the company witnessed significant improvement in its corporate operational quality, with key financial indicators such as operating revenue, net profit and net cash flow from operating activities hitting the highest in the company’s history,” the Chinese vendor added.

In 2021, ZTE said it had focused on building stronger core competence by strengthening R&D investment in key areas such as 5G. ZTE’s R&D investment reached CNY18.8 billion in 2021, representing 16.4 per cent of the company’s annual revenue, rising by 1.8 percentage points on a year-on-year basis.

ZTE’s operating revenue in China reached CNY 78.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.7 per cent, accounting for 68.2 per cent of its overall revenue. Meanwhile, revenue from international market reached CNY 36.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.1 per cent, covering 31.8 per cent of its overall operating revenue.

“In terms of operator networks, in 2021, the company was deeply engaged in the large-scale 5G and digitalization constructions in China, and continued to consolidate its position as a strategic supplier, while exploring high-value overseas market,” ZTE added.

In the government and enterprise business, ZTE said it focused on its core products and customers while strengthening its channel management, achieving rapid growth on an overall basis in markets such as energy, transportation, government affairs, finance, and internet. 

The company said it will continue to invest in core technologies such as chipsets, algorithms and network architecture. At the same time, the vendor aims to  strengthen its business expansion in IT, digital energy and smart home.

“ZTE will continue to deepen its own digital transformation, and accelerate innovation accumulation and solution iteration while improving its production and transaction efficiency. Furthermore, the company will actively strengthen mutual collaboration with customers, industries and ecological partners, expecting to achieve win-win situations.”

Last year, ZTE and fellow Chinese vendor Huawei Technologies had secured contracts to deploy the converged 5G and 4G core network for China Mobile. Both ZTE and Huawei obtained about 50 per cent of a contract to provide equipment and services worth CNY14.9 billion in 31 provinces across China.

Also in 2021, Huawei and ZTE had secured the bulk of three contracts to provide 700 MHz base stations for China Mobile and China Broadcasting Network.