Huawei has appointed a new chief executive to run its Irish business, with Calvin Lan set to take up the role.
Mr Lan, who has worked with Huawei for more than two decades, takes over from Tony Yangxu as head of Huawei Technologies Ireland.
Since joining Huawei in 2001, Mr Lan has held several senior roles in the company’s operations in China, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the Netherlands. His most recent role was overseeing Huawei’s partnership with KPN in the Netherlands.
Huawei has been under pressure globally in recent years, as numerous countries move to halt their use of the Chinese firm’s products in communications infrastructure. Telecoms groups here warned the Government last year of higher broadband costs and the potential loss of up €700 million if it proceeds with a national security ban on equipment from companies such as Huawei.
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Mr Lan’s appointment comes as Huawei Technologies Ireland, the Chinese telecoms company’s main Irish subsidiary, published its accounts for 2022, showing the Irish arm of the business increased turnover and profit despite what the company called “complex challenges” in a difficult year that included the inflationary impact on supply chains and companies paying closer attention to costs.
Turnover for the year was more than 47 per cent higher at €195.7 million, with sales attributed to Ireland accounting for €102.1 million, and European sales at €55 million. Operating profit went from €6.6 million in 2021 to €9 million last year. Profit after tax rose almost 50 per cent to €7.9 million, while pretax profit was €8.6 million, up from just under €6 million a year earlier.
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“The 2022 Ireland results were strong and in line with forecasts despite a challenging business environment,” Mr Lan said. “As a trusted partner in Ireland for nearly 20 years, Huawei is proud of its Irish business and our integral contribution to Ireland’s digital ecosystem. Our products and solutions help empower Ireland’s mobile and broadband networks while we continue to focus on creating value for our customers and partners while putting an emphasis on our decarbonisation efforts through our Digital Power unit.”
Last year the company said it would establish a European cloud services hub in Ireland, creating up to 200 additional jobs at the company and investing €150 million.
