Huawei reports biggest drop in revenue as its consumer growth engine stutters

On Friday, Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies saw its revenue drop by almost a third in the first half of 2021, with US sanctions hobbling its once-dominant handset business and new business areas still in their early stages.

The company generated revenue of 320.4 billion yuan (US$49.56 billion), it said.

The biggest drop came from Huawei's consumer business group, which includes handsets, where revenue fell 47% to 135.7 billion yuan.

It eked out a 0.6-percentage-point rise in its net profit margin to 9.8%, largely due to efficiency improvements, a company spokesman said.