Huawei on Friday announced the appointment of Meng Wanzhou (Sabrina Meng) as rotating chairman of its board of directors after the Chinese tech giant reported stable business in 2022 with revenue of CNY642.3 billion and net profit of CNY35.6 billion.
“According to the rotating chairman system of the company, Ms Meng Wanzhou will be the on-duty rotating chairwoman from April 1,2023 to September 30,2023,” the company said in a statement.
Thereafter, Hu Houkun will serve as the rotating chairperson until 31 March 2024, and from 1 April 2024, Xu Zhijun will hold the position until 30 September 2024.
Huawei continues to increase its investment in research and development. The annual expenditure of CNY161.5 billion in 2022 is equivalent to 25.1% of the company’s annual revenue, bringing the total R&D expenditure over the past 10 years to more than CNY977.3 billion.
“In 2022, a challenging external environment and non-market factors continued to take a toll on Huawei’s operations”, said Eric Xu, Huawei’s Rotating Chairman, at the company’s annual report press conference.
“In the midst of this storm, we kept racing ahead, doing everything in our power to maintain business continuity and serve our customers. We also went to great lengths to grow the harvest – generating a steady stream of revenue to sustain our survival and lay the groundwork for future development.”
Meng, Huawei’s chief financial officer, noted, “Despite substantial pressure in 2022, our overall business results were in line with forecast. At the end of 2022, our liability ratio was 58.9% and our net cash balance was CNY176.3 billion. In addition, our balance of total assets reached one trillion yuan, largely composed of current assets such as cash, short-term investments, and operating assets. Our financial position remains solid, with strong resilience and flexibility. In 2022, our total R&D spend was CNY161.5 billion, representing 25.1% of our total revenue, – among the highest in Huawei’s history. In times of pressure, we press on – with confidence.”
Eric Xu speaking at the press conference
In 2022, Huawei’s revenue in the carrier, enterprise and consumer segments was CNY284 billion, CNY133.2 billion and CNY214.5 billion, respectively.
Huawei is a strong proponent of merging with its ecosystem partners and believes that openness and collaboration lead to shared success. The company has continued to open up its platform capabilities across its HarmonyOS, Kunpeng, Ascend and Cloud portfolios, focusing on enhancing the developer experience and supporting its ecosystem partners on all fronts. Huawei currently works with more than nine million developers and over 40,000 ecosystem partners to drive ecosystem innovation and create greater value for its customers.
” 2023 will be crucial to Huawei’s sustainable survival and development,” Xu said.
“Plum blossoms tend to grow sweeter from a harsh winter’s freeze. Today, Huawei is like a plum blossom. While it’s true that we have considerable pressure ahead of us, we have what it takes to come out the other end – with opportunities to grow, a resilient business portfolio, a unique competitive edge, the enduring trust of our customers and partners, and the courage to invest heavily in R&D. We are confident in our ability to rise above any challenge that comes our way, laying a solid foundation for sustainable survival and development.”
