Huawei reports 13% increase in Irish profits

Despite 5G security concerns, Irish arm of Chinese technology firm saw revenues surge 26%

Profits at the main Irish arm of technology company Huawei last year increased by 13 per cent to €4.8 million.

New accounts filed by Huawei Technologies (Ireland) Co Ltd show that pre-tax profits increased after revenues surged 26 per cent from €94.77 million to €119.4 million.

The revenues were boosted by the launch of two new smart-phone products here.

Numbers employed in Ireland at the Chinese headquartered company increased from 107 to 115 and staff costs last year went up from €18.2 million to €21.94 million.

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According to the directors’ report, the company last year “achieved an impressive performance and significant growth in business scale”.

A breakdown of revenues show that €91.7 million was generated in Ireland with €27.2 million in the rest of the world.

The directors state their customer base and market share has remained stable and that last year Huawei successfully launched two series of smartphones.

The directors said that profits didn’t increase as much as revenues due to the marketing investment and new product costs.

Security concerns

In their report, the directors of the Irish based company address the controversy that has engulfed Huawei’s global operations over the past year.

“At the end of last year, reported security concerns spread across international media regarding the network technology related to Huawei’s 5G technology.

“Until now, allegations have not been substantiated by evidence and Huawei has sought to assure Governments and customers that network security is an absolute priority.”

They state that the management of the company has concluded that “this global 5G debate will not lead to assessable economic damage to Huawei Ireland”.

At the end of last year, the company’s accumulated profits stood at €12.5 million.

The company’s cash pile increased from €3 million to €14.8 million.

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times