Huawei’s half-year revenue up 40pc YOY to £28bn

Operating margins shrank from 18 per cent to 12pc as it moved in to high-end market

Huawei saw its Group revenue for the first half of 2016 grow by 40 per cent to CNY245.5 billion (£28 billion) year-on-year.

The Chinese manufacturer, which is the third biggest smartphone-maker in the world behind Samsung and Apple, saw record demand for its P9 flagship, launched in April.

Though revenues were up from 175.6bn yuan for the same period in 2015, it saw operating margins fall from 18 per cent to 12 per cent. Huawei did not disclose net profits.

“We achieved steady growth across all three of our business groups, thanks to a well-balanced global presence and an unwavering focus on our pipe strategy,” said Huawei CFO Sabrina Meng.

“We are confident that Huawei will maintain its current momentum, and round out the full year in a positive financial position backed by sound ongoing operations.”

Last month, Huawei laid out a number of ambitions, including plans to become the number one smartphone manufacturer globally within the next five years, and number three in the UK by next year.

Sales rose 44 per cent last year to 108 million units, making Huawei the first Chinese company to ship more than 100 million smartphones in a year.